Probing the symmetry of the potential of localized surface plasmon resonances with phase-shaped electron beams.

ABSTRACT: Plasmonics, the science and technology of the interaction of light with metallic objects, is fundamentally changing the way we can detect, generate and manipulate light. Although the field is progressing swiftly, thanks to the availability of nanoscale manufacturing and analysis methods, fundamental properties such as the plasmonic excitations' symmetries cannot be accessed directly, leading to a partial, sometimes incorrect, understanding of their properties. Here we overcome this limitation by deliberately shaping the wave function of an electron beam to match a plasmonic excitations' symmetry in a modified transmission electron microscope. We show experimentally and theoretically that this offers selective detection of specific plasmon modes within metallic nanoparticles, while excludin

SUBMITTER: Guzzinati G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5394338 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature