Hybrid Lithographic and DNA-Directed Assembly of a Configurable Plasmonic Metamaterial That Exhibits Electromagnetically Induced Transparency

Journal Article · Fri Jan 05 00:00:00 EST 2018 · Nano Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.nanolett.7b04116· OSTI ID:1532298

Litt, David B.  ^[1]; Jones, Matthew R.  ^[2]; Hentschel, Mario ^[3]; Wang, Ying ^[1]; Yang, Sui ^[1]; Ha, Hyun Dong ^[1]; Zhang, Xiang  ^[1]; Alivisatos, A. Paul  ^[4]

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1. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
2. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States)
3. Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States)
4. Univ. of California, Berkeley, CA (United States); Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Kavli Energy NanoScience Inst., Berkeley, CA (United States)

Metamaterials are architectures that interact with light in novel ways by virtue of symmetry manipulation, and have opened a window into studying unprecedented light-matter interactions. However, they are commonly fabricated via lithographic methods, are usually static structures, and are limited in how they can react to external stimuli. Here we show that by combining lithographic techniques with DNA-based self-assembly methods, we can construct responsive plasmonic metamaterials that exhibit the plasmonic analog of an effect known as electromagnetically induced transparency (EIT), which can dramatically change their spectra upon motion of their constituent parts. Correlative scanning electron microscopy measurements, scattering dark-field microscopy, and computational simulations are performed on single assemblies to determine the relationship between their structures and spectral responses to a variety of external stimuli. The strength of the EIT-like effect in these assemblies can be tuned by precisely controlling the positioning of the plasmonic nanoparticles in these structures. For example, changing the ionic environment or dehydrating the sample will change the conformation of the DNA linkers and therefore the distance between the nanoparticles. Dark-field spectra of individual assemblies show peak shifts of up to many tens of nanometers upon DNA perturbations. This dynamic metamaterial represents a stepping stone toward state-of-the-art plasmonic sensing platforms and next-generation dynamic metamaterials.

• Research Organization: Lawrence Berkeley National Lab. (LBNL), Berkeley, CA (United States); Energy Frontier Research Centers (EFRC) (United States). Light-Material Interactions in Energy Conversion (LMI)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
• Grant/Contract Number: AC02-05CH11231; SC0001293
• OSTI ID: 1532298
• Journal Information: Nano Letters, Vol. 18, Issue 2; ISSN 1530-6984
• Publisher: American Chemical Society
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE