Coupling of Fluorophores in Single Nanoapertures with Tamm Plasmon Structures

• Published in: Journal of physical chemistry. C 2019-01, Vol.123 (2), p.1413-1420
• Main Authors: Zhang, Douguo, Qiu, Dong, Chen, Yikai, Wang, Ruxue, Zhu, Liangfu, Wang, Pei, Ming, Hai, Badugu, Ramachandram, Stella, Ugo, Descrovi, Emiliano, Lakowicz, Joseph R
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 1932-7447; 1932-7455
• DOI: 10.1021/acs.jpcc.8b11498

Metal nanostructures (such as plasmonic antennas) have been widely demonstrated to be excellent devices for beaming and sorting the fluorescence emission. These effects rely on the constructive scattering or diffraction from different elements (such as metal corrugations or nanorings) of the nanostructures. However, subwavelength-size nanoholes, without nearby nanoscale features, results in an angularly dispersed emission from the distal surface. Herein, we demonstrate for the first time the emission redirection capabilities of a single isolated nanoaperture milled in a thick silver film deposited on a dielectric multilayer. Specifically, we show that a dye dissolved in ethanol filling in the nanoaperture can couple with Tamm plasmon polariton (TPP) modes of the structure. Because of the small in-plane wavevectors of the TPPs, the fluorescence from Tamm-coupled dyes within the nanoaperture is emitted normally to the sample surface, with a minimum angular width of about 12.54°. This kind of fluorescence manipulation has proven to be effective with various nanoaperture shapes, such as circles, squares, and triangles. Our work is also the first experimental demonstration of lateral coupling of fluorophores with TPPs in nanoholes, with potential applications in bioanalysis and biosciences.