Plasmon-enhanced multi-photon excited photoluminescence of Au, Ag, and Pt nanoclusters

• Published in: Nanotechnology Vol. 35; no. 17; pp. 175705 - 175717
• Main Authors: Bornacelli, J, Torres-Torres, C, Crespo-Sosa, A, Reyes-Esqueda, J A, Oliver, A
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England IOP Publishing 22.04.2024
• Subjects: ion implantation; metal nanoclusters; nanoparticles; nonlinear optical absorption; photonics; plasmonics; Nanoparticles; Nonlinear Optical Absorption; Metal Nanoclusters; Plasmonics; Ion Implantation; Photonics
• ISSN: 0957-4484; 1361-6528
• DOI: 10.1088/1361-6528/ad2233

In this work, we have studied the multi-photon excited photoluminescence from metal nanoclusters (NCs) of Au, Ag and Pt embedded in Al2O3 matrix by ion implantation. The thermal annealing process allows to obtain a system composed of larger plasmonic metal nanoparticles (NPs) surrounded by photoluminescent ultra-small metal NCs. By exciting at 1064 nm, visible emission, ranging from 450 to 800 nm, was detected. The second and fourth-order nature of the multiphoton process was verified in a power-dependent study measured for each sample below the damage threshold. Experiments show that Au and Ag NCs exhibit a four-fold enhanced multiphoton excited photoluminescence with respect to that observed for Pt NCs, which can be explained as a result of a plasmon-mediated near-field process that is of less intensity for Pt NPs. These findings provide new opportunities to combine plasmonic nanoparticles and photoluminescent nanoclusters inside a robust inorganic matrix to improve their optical properties. Plasmon-enhanced multiphoton excited photoluminescence from metal nanoclusters may find potential application as ultrasmall fluorophores in multiphoton sensing, and in the development of solar cells with highly efficient energy conversion modules.