'Dark plasmons' transmit energy according to Rice University

 

Microscopic channels of gold nanoparticles have the ability to transmit electromagnetic energy that starts as light and propagates via  'dark plasmons,' according to researchers at Rice University. A new paper in the American Chemical Society journal Nano Letters shows how even disordered collections of nanoparticles in arrays as thin as 150 nanometers can be turned into waveguides and transmit signals an order of magnitude better than previous experiments were able to achieve. Efficient energy transfer on the micrometer scale may greatly improve optoelectronic devices. The Rice lab of Stephan Link, an assistant professor of chemistry and electrical and computer engineering, has developed a way to 'print' fine lines of gold nanoparticles on glass. These lines of nanoparticles can transmit a signal from one nanoparticle to the next over many microns, much farther than previous attempts and roughly equivalent to results seen using gold nanowires.