Bidimensional ordered plasmonic nanoarrays for nonlinear optics, nanophotonics and biosensing applications

The capability to develop novel nanomaterials with properly tailored optical properties is of great interest for many nanophotonic applications. In the present work, 2D-ordered plasmonic nanoarrays with different morphologies, as nanoprism, nanoparticle, nanohole and semi-nanoshell arrays, are realized by nanosphere lithography, combining metal depositions, reactive ion etching and thermal treatments. By controlling the processing parameters, the plasmonic properties of the nanoarrays can be tailored, engineering the optical functionalities of the plasmonic nanosystems. Some selected examples are presented to show the potentialities of the synthesized nanoarrays in different fields: to realize ultra-fast and tunable nonlinear optical materials, to enhance the quantum efficiency of nearby rare-earth emitters and to develop high-sensitivity, label-free biosensors. The versatility of the fabrication technique gives the possibility to design different configurations and many other applications can be envisaged for these plasmonic nanoarrays in advanced nanophotonic devices.