Noble Metal Nanostructures Influence of Structure and Environment on Their Optical Properties

Abstract

Optical properties of nanostructured materials, isolated nanoparticles, and structures composed of both metals and semiconductors are broadly discussed. Fundamentals of the origin of surface plasmons as well as the surface plasmon resonance sensing are described and documented on a number of examples. Localized plasmon sensing and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy are subjected to special interest since those techniques are inherently associated with the direct application of plasmonic structures. The possibility of tailoring the optical properties of ultra-thin metal layers via controlling their shape and morphology by postdeposition annealing is documented. Special attention is paid to the contribution of bimetallic particles and layers as well as metal structures encapsulated in semiconductors and dielectrics to the optical response. The opportunity to tune the properties of materials over a large scale of values opens up entirely new application possibilities of optical active structures. The nature of surface plasmons predetermines noble metal nanostructures to be promising great materials for development of modern label-free sensing methods based on plasmon resonance—SPR and LSPR sensing.