The tubulization process of amorphous carbon nanopillars was observed in situ by transmis-sion electron microscopy. Amorphous carbon nanopillars were transformed into graphitic tubules by annealing at 650-900 degrees C in the presence of iron nanoparticles. A molten catalyst nanoparticle penetrated an amorphous carbon nanopillar, dissolving it, and leaving a graphite track behind. An iron nanop...

A quantum mechanical theory of the rate of excitation energy transfer from a fluorescent dye molecule to the surface plasmonic modes of a spherical metal nanoparticle is presented. The theory predicts the distance dependence of the transfer rate to vary as 1/d(sigma), with sigma=3-4 at intermediate distances, in partial agreement with the recent experimental results. Förster's 1/d(6) dependence...

Novel organic-inorganic composite 1D nanostructures composed of carbonized conductive nanofibers and nickel nanoparticle chains were prepared by the combination of an electrospinning method from metal complex-containing polymer solutions and an ion-beam irradiation technique. The nickel nanoparticle chains were formed by self-assembly inside the carbonized nanofibers, which were characterized b...

Development of synthesis protocols for realizing nanomaterials over a range of sizes, shapes and chemical compositions is an important aspect of nanotechnology. A number of recipes have been developed for the synthesis of metal nanoparticles in polar (for example, water) and non-polar organic solvents, each method accompanied by characteristic advantages and disadvantages. Specific applications...

We used the particle swarm optimization algorithm, an evolutionary computational technique, to design metal nanoparticle arrays that produce broadband plasmonic field enhancement over the entire visible spectral range. The resulting structures turn out to be aperiodic and feature dense Fourier spectra with many closely packed particle clusters. We conclude that broadband field-enhancement effec...

We investigate the interplay between quenching and strong coupling in systems that include a collection of quantum emitters interacting with a metal nanoparticle. By using detailed numerical simulations and analytical modeling, we demonstrate that quantum emitters can exhibit strong coupling with the particle dipole resonance at distances at which the quenching to nonradiative channels is expec...

Silver nanoparticle rings embedded in glass are fabricated by ion exchange technique with photolithographically patterned metal mask. Optical transmission measurement is performed to characterize the optical properties of silver nanoparticles. Atomic force microscopy (AFM) of an etched sample further shows the pattern of the nanoparticles. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) with X-ray energ...

In this paper we study the spectral, localization and dispersion properties of dipolar modes in quasi-periodically modulated nanoparticle chains based on the Fibonacci sequence. By developing a transfer matrix approach for the calculation of resonant frequencies, oscillation eigenvectors and integrated density of states (IDS) of spatially-modulated dipole chains, we demonstrate the presence of ...

Plasmonic biosensors based on the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of metal nanoparticles have been developed using both nanoparticle arrays and single nanoparticles. We introduce LSPR biosensing by describing the initial experiments performed using both model systems and disease biomarkers. LSPR shift-enhancement methods, exploitation of the short electromagnetic field decay length, ...

Optical control of phase coexistence, previously used as a mechanism for achieving a nonlinearity at planar gallium/glass interfaces, can be exploited as a nonlinear response mechanism in a metallic nanoparticle film. Experimental measurements of the reflective and transmissive nonlinear response of a gallium nanoparticle film, manufactured on the tip of an optical fibre using the light-assiste...