High-order nonlinearity of silica-gold nanoshells in chloroform at 1560 nm

• Published in: Optics express 2010-10, Vol.18 (21), p.21636-21644
• Main Authors: Falcão-Filho, E L, Barbosa-Silva, R, Sobral-Filho, R G, Brito-Silva, A M, Galembeck, A, de Araújo, Cid B
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Algorithms; Chloroform - chemistry; Electrons; Gold - chemistry; Hot Temperature; Metal Nanoparticles - chemistry; Microscopy, Electron - methods; Microscopy, Electron, Scanning - methods; Microscopy, Electron, Transmission - methods; Models, Statistical; Nanotechnology - methods; Optics and Photonics; Photons; Silicon Dioxide - chemistry; Surface Plasmon Resonance
• ISSN: 1094-4087; 1094-4087
• DOI: 10.1364/OE.18.021636

The nonlinear response of silica--gold nanoshells (SGNs) in chloroform was studied using laser pulses of 65 fs at 1560 nm. The experiments were performed using the thermally managed Z--scan technique that allows measurements of the electronic contribution for the nonlinear response, free from thermal influence. The results were analyzed using an analytical approach based on the quasi--static approximation that allowed extraction of the nonlinear susceptibility of a SGN from the data. High third--order susceptibility, χsh((3)) = - 1.5 x 10(-11) m(2)/V(2), approximately four orders of magnitude larger than for gold nanospheres in the visible, and large fifth--order susceptibility, χsh((5)) = - 1.4 x 10(-24) m(4)/V(4), were obtained. The present results offers new perspectives for nonlinear plasmonics in the near--infrared.