FusionScope gives brand-new insights into 3D nanostructures
The paper “Spectral Tuning of Plasmonic Activity in 3D Nanostructures via High-Precision Nano Printing” of the FELMI-ZFE institute treats the unique optical characteristics of plasmonic nanoparticles which are more and more used in commercial products like photovoltaics or biological and chemical sensors.
To tune their plasmonic properties according to the desired application, it is crucial to control the geometry in every detail. In the past, this has not been reliably demonstrated for complex 3D nanoarchitectures yet.
This paper presents how Focused Electron Beam Induced Deposition (FEBID), a highly flexible additive 3D direct-write technology with spatial nano-scale precision, is used for the controlled and tunable fabrication of plasmonically active 3D nanostructures that exhibit highly concentrated, well defined and predictable local resonances.
As model systems, Au-nanowires and 3D nano-tips of various geometries are prepared by FEBID and characterized by scanning transmission electron microscopy-based electron energy loss spectroscopy (STEM-EELS). The results are complemented with corresponding simulations, which depict very good accordance with experimental findings.
FusionScope allows the precise identification, approximation and characterization of STEM-EELS analyzed Au-nanostructures. Even though these nanostructures have a size of only a few nanometers and are applied on a 5 nm thin TEM grid, this particularly challenging setting can easily be mastered by the FusionScope. This way, on-demand spectral tuning of the plasmonic response becomes accessible via upfront modeling and design of suitable 3D nanostructures, to achieve customized plasmonic responses, therefore paving the way for yet unrealized plasmonic applications in 3D space.
