Selective Plasmon Enhancement of the 1.08 mu m Nd super(3+) Laser Stark Transition by Tailoring Ag Nanoparticles Chains on a PPLN Y-cut

• Published in: Nano letters Vol. 13; no. 10; pp. 4931 - 4936-4931-4936
• Main Authors: Molina, Pablo, Yraola, Eduardo, Ramirez, Mariola O, Plaza, Jose L, de las Heras, Carmen, Bausa, Luisa E
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.01.2013
• Subjects: Gain; Lasers; Nanoparticles; Nanostructure; Plasmons; Rare earth metals; Silver; Yttrium
• ISSN: 1530-6984; 1530-6992
• DOI: 10.1021/nl4028999

Selective photoluminescence enhancement of the specific Nd super(3+) Stark transition for which laser gain has been obtained in Nd super(3+)/LiNbO sub(3) is demonstrated by means of plasmonic resonances with the appropriate symmetry configuration. By using the nonpolar Y-cut of a periodically poled LiNbO sub(3) crystal as platform for photoreduction of metallic nanostructures, periodically distributed chains of Ag nanoparticles oriented parallel to the ferroelectric c-axis are obtained. This alternative metallic nanostructure configuration supports the resonance between the localized surface plasmon and exclusively the pi -polarized Stark laser line of Nd super(3+) ions at 1.08 mu m, while maintaining the remaining crystal field transitions unchanged. The work provides the experimental proof on how plasmonic-based optical antennas can be used to influence selectively rare earth optical Stark transitions to improve the performance of solid state laser gain media.