Ultrafast switching of surface plasmonic conditions in nonplasmonic metals

被引:21
作者
Bevillon, E. [1 ]
Colombier, J. P. [1 ]
Recoules, V. [2 ]
Zhang, H. [1 ]
Li, C. [1 ]
Stoian, R. [1 ]
机构
[1] Univ Jean Monnet, Univ Lyon, UMR CNRS 5516, Lab Hubert Curien, F-42000 St Etienne, France
[2] CEA DIF, F-91297 Arpajon, France
关键词
OPTICAL-PROPERTIES; LASER; FEMTOSECOND; RESONANCE;
D O I
10.1103/PhysRevB.93.165416
中图分类号
T [工业技术];
学科分类号
08 ;
摘要
We demonstrate that ultrafast carrier excitation can drastically affect electronic structures in nonplasmonic metals and determine a transient, brief surface plasmonic state, potentially creating the conditions for a plasmonic switch. The initial state can be related to d-band partial filling and splitting, with a pseudo-band-gap accommodating the chemical potential. This determines a quasi-resonant-like spectral behavior of the optical constants for pumping carriers across the d-band pseudogap, i.e., visible frequencies. The relation between real and imaginary parts of the refractive index does not fulfill surface plasmonic conditions in the visible photon range. Using first-principles molecular dynamics and Kubo-Greenwood formalism for laser-excited tungsten we show that carrier heating mobilizes d electrons into collective inter-and intraband transitions leading to a sign flip in the imaginary optical conductivity, activating plasmonic properties for the initial nonplasmonic phase. The drive for the laser-induced optical evolution in this case does not rely on a variation of the free electron number but can be visualized as an increasingly damped character of the quasiresonance at visible frequencies. Here laser heating determines an energy-dependent degree of occupation with broadening profiles. The subsequent evolution of optical indices for the excited material is confirmed by time-resolved ultrafast ellipsometry. The large optical tunability extends the existence spectral domain of surface plasmons in ranges typically claimed in laser self-organized nanostructuring. Nonequilibrium heating is thus a strong factor for engineering optical control of evanescent excitation waves, particularly important in laser nanostructuring strategies.
引用
收藏
页数:7
相关论文
共 40 条
[1]   Ab Initio Nonequilibrium Thermodynamic and Transport Properties of Ultrafast Laser Irradiated 316L Stainless Steel [J].
Bevillon, E. ;
Colombier, J. P. ;
Dutta, B. ;
Stoian, R. .
JOURNAL OF PHYSICAL CHEMISTRY C, 2015, 119 (21) :11438-11446
[2]   Free-electron properties of metals under ultrafast laser-induced electron-phonon nonequilibrium: A first-principles study [J].
Bevillon, E. ;
Colombier, J. P. ;
Recoules, V. ;
Stoian, R. .
PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 2014, 89 (11)
[3]   SEMICONDUCTOR SURFACE DAMAGE PRODUCED BY RUBY LASERS [J].
BIRNBAUM, M .
JOURNAL OF APPLIED PHYSICS, 1965, 36 (11) :3688-&
[4]   Evolution of ac Conductivity in Nonequilibrium Warm Dense Gold [J].
Chen, Z. ;
Holst, B. ;
Kirkwood, S. E. ;
Sametoglu, V. ;
Reid, M. ;
Tsui, Y. Y. ;
Recoules, V. ;
Ng, A. .
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 2013, 110 (13)
[5]   Guiding heat in laser ablation of metals on ultrafast timescales: an adaptive modeling approach on aluminum [J].
Colombier, J. P. ;
Combis, P. ;
Audouard, E. ;
Stoian, R. .
NEW JOURNAL OF PHYSICS, 2012, 14
[6]   Transient optical response of ultrafast nonequilibrium excited metals: Effects of electron-electron contribution to collisional absorption [J].
Colombier, J. P. ;
Combis, P. ;
Audouard, E. ;
Stoian, R. .
PHYSICAL REVIEW E, 2008, 77 (03)
[7]   Derivation of third-order nonlinear susceptibility of thin metal films as a delayed optical response [J].
Conforti, Matteo ;
Della Valle, Giuseppe .
PHYSICAL REVIEW B, 2012, 85 (24)
[8]   Electrical conductivity for warm, dense aluminum plasmas and liquids [J].
Desjarlais, MP ;
Kress, JD ;
Collins, LA .
PHYSICAL REVIEW E, 2002, 66 (02)
[9]   Controlled nanostructrures formation by ultra fast laser pulses for color marking [J].
Dusser, B. ;
Sagan, Z. ;
Soder, H. ;
Faure, N. ;
Colombier, J. P. ;
Jourlin, M. ;
Audouard, E. .
OPTICS EXPRESS, 2010, 18 (03) :2913-2924
[10]   TIME-RESOLVED OBSERVATION OF ELECTRON-PHONON RELAXATION IN COPPER [J].
ELSAYEDALI, HE ;
NORRIS, TB ;
PESSOT, MA ;
MOUROU, GA .
PHYSICAL REVIEW LETTERS, 1987, 58 (12) :1212-1215