MASTER DE PHYSIQUE ET APPLICATIONS
Spécialité Sciences des Matériaux et Nano-objets
International Nanomat Master Program
Master thesis proposal (M2) 2015-2016
Laboratory: LPQM, ENS Cachan, Centrale Paris antenna
Address: Grande Voie des Vignes, Châtenay-Malabry
Laboratory director: Isabelle Ledoux-Rak
Internship supervisors: B. Palpant, H. Remita (LCP, Orsay)
Phone: 01 41 13 16 26 e-mail: bruno.palpant@ecp.fr
Website: http://www.lpqm.ens-cachan.fr/
 Background, Context
Thanks to the localized plasmon resonance phenomenon, stemming from
the interaction of an electromagnetic wave and the electrons confined in
metal nanoparticles (NPs), one can efficiently inject energy in the latter by
pulsed light irradiation. From the series of the subsequent exchange and
relaxation mechanisms the optical properties of the medium where these
NPs are spread are modified in a fast transient way.1 By coupling such effects
with a resonant mode of an electromagnetic cavity, one may conceive
optically controlled photonic functions. In our team, specialized in ultrafast
optical and thermal phenomena in metal nanostructures, we have recently
demonstrated a spectacular enhancement of the ultrafast optical response
of gold nanoparticles after optimization of the coupling of their plasmon mode
with a photonic mode in a 1D cavity.2,3 This opens new opportunities for
applications in photonics devices or ultrafast modulation of near-field energy
transfer.
Ultrafast photonic modulator.
The cavity of a Fabry-Perot device
is doped by gold nanoparticles. A
short light pulse (200 fs) sent just
after time t=0 induces a strong
transient modulation of the signal
transmisison peak (cavity mode)
within the photonic band gap
(calculation LPQM).2
This simulation result has been
confirmed
by
time-resolved
spectroscopy experiments in our
team, on a multilayer hybrid device
elaborated by a partner in Spain.3
 Research subject, work plan
The objective is to study the fundamentals of the coupling and to develop it
towards an even more powerful anisotropic configuration, using nonspherical
nanoparticles and enabling polarization-controlled ultrafast photonic
functionalities. The optical response will be explored in both the stationary and ultrafast transient regimes.
The internship will be mostly oriented toward modelling and simulation. It is highly likely to be continued in a
PhD where experiments and simulations will be carried out. Hybrid cavities with single gold nanoparticles in
a 2D photonic crystal will then be designed and investigated.
 Partnership and means
The hybrid anisotropic cavities will be elaborated in collaboration with our partners from the Instituto de Optica
in Madrid. Models and numerical tools that we have developed will be extended for the design of new
structures and the simulation of their properties. The optical response of the devices elaborated will be
measured by time-resolved ultrafast laser microscpectroscopy.
1.
2.
3.
Optical generation and detection of thermal exchanges in metal-dielectric nanocomposites, B. Palpant, in “Thermal
Nanosystems and Nanomaterials”, series Topics in Applied Physics, Vol. 118, pp. 127–150, ed. S. Volz, (Springer, 2009).
Large and ultrafast optical response of a one-dimensional plasmonic-photonic cavity, X. Wang and B. Palpant, Plasmonics 8,
1647–1653 (2013).
Coupling localised plasmonic and photonic modes tailors and boosts ultrafast light modulation by gold nanoparticles, X.
Wang, R. Moreira, J. Gonzalez and B. Palpant, Nano Letters 15, 2633–2639 (2015).
Techniques in use: models for nanoscale light-matter interaction, ultrafast broadband laser spectroscopy
Applicant skills: Good knowledge in nanosciences and optics.
Key words: plasmon, gold nanoparticles, microcavity, photonic crystal, ultrafast
Granted internship: yes
Matisse labex team: no
Possibility for a thesis: yes