This PDF file contains the front matter associated with SPIE Proceedings Volume 7922, including the Title Page, Copyright information, Table of Contents and the Conference Committee listing.

ZnO nanowires have attracted a great attention as building blocks for the optoelectronic devices. For the practical optoelectronic applications based on the ZnO nanowires, a synthesis technique for layered structure has significant advantage to fabricate a pn junction, a core/shell structure, and a multiple quantum well structure. We have been succeeded in growing nanowires on the pre-deposited ZnO film and core/shell structure by a newly developed nanoparticle-assisted pulsed-laser deposition (NAPLD) using multi-target changer. In this paper, recent progresses of synthesis of layer-structured ZnO nanowires by the NAPLD are described.

The semiconducting single walled carbon nanotube (s-SWNTs) with its direct bandgap and its strong 1D character absorbs and emits light efficiently. In contrast with other nanomaterials, the structure of an SWNT is uniquely defined and is set by a discrete number of carbon rings along its tubular section. Experimentally, optical spectroscopy has recently revealed this remarkable quantization. In our group, we focus primarily on the luminescence properties of individual s-SWNTs. Using imaging techniques, we reveal unambiguously that each s-SWNT with its quantized structure is characterized by a specific manifold of excitonic states. With the large diameter tunability achieved in SWNTs, we show that the material represents a model system for 1D photophysics. This proceeding is meant to be a review of past work and includes complementary data that have been presented at conferences but otherwise have never been published. Some emphasis is given on experimental details for luminescence imaging and spectroscopy.

Irradiating carbon nanoparticles (CNPs) with near-infrared laser beam leads to generation of heat, therefore it has potential to be used in many applications including the destruction of cancer cells. Though pulsed laser beams have been used earlier to transform shapes of metallic and semiconductor nanoparticles, changing shape of CNPs required intense electron beam irradiation. In this paper, we report significant size reduction of CNPs under continuous-wave (cw) near-infrared (NIR) laser beam micro-irradiation which was attributed to melting and vaporization or fragmentation of the carbon nanoparticles. Further, we show that the spherical shape of the CNPs can be transformed into ellipsoidal, by exposure to cw NIR laser microbeam irradiation for a few seconds. In-situ measurements using atomic force microscopy (AFM) reveal the shape and size changes of the CNPs upon laser micro-irradiation. Most importantly, cw NIR laser microbeam irradiation led to ultra-structural phase transformation of CNPs as detected via Raman spectroscopic imaging. While the graphitic CNPs could be changed to diamond-like carbon (DLC), no phase change in DLC nanoparticles was observed. These transformations did not require presence of any special chemical (catalyst, functionalization) or physical (pressure, temperature) arrangement. In-situ control of CNP-size, shape and ultra-structural properties opens new possibilities in multiple nanotechnology adventures.

Surface Plasmon Polariton (SPP) modes have attracted many minds for over 100 years. Confining light to dimensions smaller than its propagating wavelength, point towards technological possibilities, such as optical circuitry within ultra small computer processors or, small biochemical sensors. As for other lasers, surface plasmon lasers (SPL) require gain and feedback. Yet, quenching of the fluorescence and induced current losses by the metal interface almost proved SPL to be unattainable. Such impediments were circumvented by a periodic design on the nano scale, which reduced the losses and maintained gain of a few ten thousands per cm.

We explore the possibility to control the polarization state of light confined into sub-diffraction volumes by means of plasmonic optical antennas. To this aim, we describe a resonant cross antenna, constituted of two perpendicular two-wire antennas sharing the same gap, which is able to maintain the polarization state in the plane of the antenna. We also discuss how, by proper tuning of the arm length in a slightly off-resonance cross antenna, it is possible to effectively realize a nanoscale quarter-waveplate antenna. We present experimental results for the preparation of individual cross antennas by means of focused ion beam milling starting from single-crystalline Au microflakes, and finally show preliminary characterization results based on two-photon photoluminescence confocal imaging with linearly-polarized light.

In this paper, we present systematic measurements of the ultrafast dephasing time T2 of surface plasmon excitations in silver nanoparticles exposed to different chemical environments. The objective of the measurements is, whether or not different chemical environments infuence independently the damping of the plasmon resonance, i.e., clarify if the Matthiessen law can always be applied. For this purpose, measurements of T2 in the size range between Req = 7 nm and 18 nm were carried out for nanoparticles on different substrates and in different chemical environments. Subsequently, the damping parameter A, which quantifes the infuence of extrinsic and intrinsic size effects of the different damping mechanisms on T2, has been determined. While A = 0.13 nm/fs has been determined for quasi-free nanoparticles, the A parameter increases to approximately A = 0.55 nm/fs for nanoparticles on a quartz substrate, and further to A = 1.8 nm/fs for supported nanoparticles covered with SO₂. Most importantly, the well known Matthiessen law cannot be applied to the nanoparticle systems investigated here, because different chemical damping channels do not contribute independently to the damping of the surface plasmon resonance.

The monolayer formation of photoswitchable self-assembled monolayers of azobenzene-functionalized molecules was studied in situ and in real time by optical second-harmonic generation. Especially the influence of the isomerization state during the adsorption process was measured in our experiments. As will be shown, the isomerization state has a significant influence on the adsorption process of the investigated molecules. Based on the results of the second-harmonic generation experiments the kinetics of the adsorption process was determined.

We investigate the functioning of a monolithically integrated surface plasmon resonance (SPR) device comprising a metal coated dielectric layer deposited atop a luminescence emitting quantum well (QW) wafer. The device takes advantage of the uncollimated and incoherent emission of QWs. The light modulations in the far field, where the surface plasmons are extracted by a grating, have been calculated for a continuum of energies and wavevectors injected by the substrate. We discuss the results of our calculations based on a tensorial rigorous coupled-wave analysis aimed at the full description of SPR coupling in QW semiconductor-based architectures, designed for biosensing applications. The surface roughness induced by various nanofabrication methods is also studied, given that it is one of the main limiting factors in diffraction-based SPR sensing. This aspect is studied for thin film microstructures operating in the visible and near-infrared spectral regions. The surface roughness and dielectric values for various deposition rates of very thin Au films are examined. We finally introduce a novel experimental method for direct mapping of the electromagnetic (EM) wave dispersion that enabled us monitoring of a massive amount of light-scattering related information. We present the results of far field measurements of the complete 3D dispersion relation of a SPR effect induced by this nanodevice. The quasi-real time method is applied for tracking SPR directly in the E(k) space. Those additional dimensions, measured with scalable tracking precision, reveal anisotropic surficial interactions and provide spectroscopic response for SPR.

The development of high-reflection mirrors with amorphous metal-oxide multilayers in the "water-window"(λ=2.332nm-4.368nm) is desired for soft x-ray coherent optics. One of the authors has already studied and fabricated amorphous Al2O3/TiO2 multilayer for the "water-window" wavelengths by controlled growth with atomic layer deposition (ALD), and then acquired the reflectance of 33.4 % at 2.73nm and at the incidence angle of 18.2° from the normal incidence. In this study, we proposed Al₂O₃/TiO₂/Al₂O₃/ZnO multilayer mirrors. Al₂O₃ layers grown as amorphous layers were inserted between TiO₂ and ZnO layers. The Al₂O₃, ZnO and TiO₂ thin films were grown on Al2O3 (0001) substrate by controlled growth with atomic layer deposition (ALD) methods at 450°C. Experimental results indicated that the growth of crystalline rutile TiO₂ (100) and wurtzite ZnO (0001) were prevented. Thus, inserting amorphous Al₂O₃ layers, the results indicated that the crystalline growth was prevented. Moreover, we succeeded fabrication of amorphous TiO₂/ZnO mirrors by ALD.

The lasing characteristics and the alignment methods of ZnO nanocrystals were investigated for an application to ultraviolet (UV) laser diode (LD). ZnO nanowires and nanosheets were synthesized on a silicon substrate by a CVD method or nanoparticle assisted pulsed-laser deposition (NAPLD), and then those ZnO nanocrystals were examined by a photoluminescence (PL) method with a third-harmonic Nd:YAG laser (355 nm, 5 ns). The observed emission spectra showed the obvious lasing characteristics having mode structure and a threshold for lasing. The threshold power density of a ZnO nanowire and a nanosheet were measured to be 100 kW/cm² and 5 kW/cm², respectively. Furthermore, the threshold power was calculated to be 8.4 mW for a ZnO nanowire and 2.5 mW for a ZnO nanosheet. Then the oscillation mechanisms were discussed on those ZnO nanocrystals. We also observed the laser-induced motion (LIM) of ZnO nanocrystals when they were excited by ultraviolet laser beam.

We reported the synthesis of silicon nanoparticles with mean size varying from 60 nm to 3 nm, by ultrafast laser ablation of a silicon target in deionized water. Optical absorption, Raman spectroscopy and Electron microscopy were performed to characterize the nanoparticles. The crystalline structure of the obtained silicon nanoparticles was confirmed with Raman spectroscopy combined with High resolution transmission electronic microscopy. The energy confinement of carriers which is evaluated from optical experiments varies from 90 meV to 440 meV when the mean nanoparticles size decreases from 60 nm to 3 nm. In particular, the evaluated nanoparticles size from optical analysis and LCAO theoretical model are found in agreement with Transmission Electron Microscopy and Raman measurements for the silicon nanoparticles with a size less than 6 nm. Finally, we studied the stability of silicon nanoparticles with time which demonstrates that the smallest nanoparticle aggregates over time.