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Dual heterostructures integrating noble-metal and copper chalcogenide nanoparticles have attracted a great deal of attention in nonlinear optics, because coupling of their localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPRs) substantially enhances light-matter interactions through local-field effects. Previously, enhanced cascaded third-harmonic generation was demonstrated in Au/CuS heterostructures mediated by harmonically coupled surface plasmon resonances. This suggests a promising approach for extending nonlinear enhancement to higher harmonics by adding an additional nanoparticulate material with higher-frequency harmonic resonances to the hybrid films. Here we report the first observation of enhanced cascaded fourth- and fifth-harmonic generation in Al/Au/CuS driven by coupled LSPRs at the fundamental (1050 nm), second harmonic (525 nm), and third harmonic (350 nm) of the pump frequency. An analytical model based on incoherent dipole-dipole interactions among plasmonic nanoparticles accounts for the observed enhancements. The results suggest a novel design for efficiently generating higher harmonics in resonant plasmonic structures by means of multiple sum-frequency cascades.

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We have studied the time-dependent optical properties of nanowaveguides containing an ensemble of noninteracting quantum emitters and interaction metallic nanoparticles. We have developed a theory for transient photoluminescence (PL) and exciton population density using the density matrix method. In our theory, we have included the effect of the dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) between metallic nanoparticles along with the effect of the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) created by metallic nanoparticles. We compared our theory with the transient PL experiments of nanohybrids fabricated from CdSe/ZnS quantum dots and an Ag nanorod array. A good agreement between theory and PL experiment is found. We have also examined the transient behavior of the photoluminescence in the presence of the DDI and SPP couplings. It is observed that the number of transient PL oscillations increases as the DDI coupling increases. The width of the transient peaks also increases as the amount of the DDI coupling increases. Finally, we predicted that the peaks of the transient PL oscillation split from one peak to two peaks as the intensity of the DDI coupling reaches the strong coupling limit. The strong coupling limit is defined when the DDI coupling is larger than the PL decay rates. This finding can be used to fabricate nano switches by using one peak as the OFF position and two peaks as the ON position. The above findings also suggest the transient plasmonic properties of nanowaveguides can be controlled by the SPP and DDI couplings. These findings have potential applications in the development of transient nanoscale plasmonic devices such as nano detectors and optical nano switches.

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We have developed a theory of the quantum yield for plasmonic nanowaveguide where the cladding layer is made of an ensemble of quantum dots and the core layer consists of an ensemble of metallic nanoparticles. The bound states of the confined probe photons in the plasmonic nanowaveguide are calculated using the transfer matrix method based on the Maxwell equations. It is shown that the number of bound states in the nanowaveguide depends on the dielectric properties of the core and cladding layers. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) produced by the metallic nanoparticles interacts with the excitons of the quantum dots. The radiative and nonradiative linewidths of excitons in the quantum yield are calculated using the quantum mechanical perturbation theory. We have found that the quantum yield decreases as the dipole-dipole interaction between metallic nanoparticles increases. We have also calculated the photoluminescence and found that the enhancement in photoluminescence is due to the SPPs coupling. On the other hand, the quenching in the photoluminescence is due to the quantum yield. We compared our theory with experiments of a nanowaveguide where the core is fabricated from Ag- nanoparticles and the cladding is fabricated from the perovskite quantum dots. A good agreement between theory and experiments is found. Our analytical expressions of the quantum yield and photoluminescence can be used by experimentalists to proforma new types of experiments and for inventing new types of nanosensors and nanoswitches.

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A theory of the two-photon florescence for a metallic nanoshell in the presence of quantum emitters has been developed. The metallic nanoshell is made of a metallic nanosphere as a core and a dielectric material as a shell. An ensemble of quantum emitters is deposited on the surface of the dielectric shell. A probe field is applied to study the two-photon process in the metallic nanoshell. Surface plasmon polaritons are created at the interface between the core and shell due to coupling between probe photons and surface plasmons present at the surface of the metallic nanosphere. The intensity of the surface plasmon polariton field is huge when the probe photon energy is in resonance with the polariton resonance energy. Induced electric dipoles are created in each quantum emitter due to the surface plasmon polariton field and the probe field. Dipoles in quantum emitters interact with each other via the dipole-dipole interaction. The dipole-dipole interaction is calculated using the many-body theory and mean field approximation. It is found that the dipole-dipole interaction has new term which is induced by the surface plasmon polariton field. An analytical expression of the two-photon florescence is derived in the presence the dipole-dipole interaction. Our theory predicts that the intensity of the two-photon florescence is enhanced in the presence of quantum emitters relative to the florescence of the metallic nanoshell in isolation. Physics behind the enhancement is the presence of the dipole-dipole interaction between the ensemble of quantum emitters. It is also found that as the concentration of quantum emitters increases, the dipole-dipole field also increases. This in turn, increases the two-photon florescence as function of the concentration. Finally, we have compared our theory with experiments of a metallic nanoshell which is made for Au nanosphere core and the SiO2 shell. The metallic nanoshell is surrounded by various concentrations of Cadmium-Selenium quantum dots as quantum emitters. A good agreement between theory and experiment is found.

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In this chapter, we explain why metallic nanomaterials are used in nanomedicine. We have shown that the electron density in metallic nanomaterials oscillates and creates electron density waves. When laser light falls on metallic nanoparticles, light interacts with electron density waves. According to Einstein, light, which is electromagnetic waves, consists of particles called photons. Similarly, electron density waves are also made of particles called surface plasmons. Therefore, photons from laser light and surface plasmons from metallic nanostructures interact with each other and create new particles called surface plasmon polaritons. These new particles produce an intense light near the surface of metallic nanomaterials. We showed that this intense light is important in the application of metallic nanomaterials in nanomedicine. Further, we have applied metallic nanoparticles, single metallic nanoshells and double metallic nanoshells for treatment of cancer and detection of smaller tumors.

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We have studied energy absorption rate in a quantum dot-metallic nanosphere system embedded on a dielectric substrate. We applied a control field to induce dipole moments in the quantum dot and the metal nanosphere, and monitored the energy absorption using a probe field. These external fields induce dipole moments in the metal nanosphere and the quantum dot, and these two structures interact with one another via the dipole-dipole interaction. The density matrix method was used to evaluate the absorption, indicating that it can be shifted by moving the metal nanosphere close to the quantum dot. Also, absorption efficiency can either be quenched or enhanced by the addition of a metal nanosphere. This hybrid system can be used to create ultrafast switching and sensing nanodevices.

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Nonlinear two-photon absorption in a quantum dot-graphene nanoflake nanocomposite system has been investigated. An external laser field is applied to the nanocomposite to simultaneously observe two-photon processes in the quantum dot and excite localized surface plasmons in the graphene nanodisk. This resonance condition can be achieved by tuning the plasmon resonance frequency in the graphene nanoflake via electrostatic gating. It is found that the strong local field of the graphene plasmons can enhance and control nonlinear optical processes in the quantum dot. Specifically, we show that the two-photon absorption coefficient in the quantum dot can be switched between single- and double-peaked spectra by modifying the graphene-quantum dot separation. Two-photon processes in the quantum dot can also be switched on or off by slightly changing the gate voltage applied to the graphene. Our findings indicate that this system can be used for nonlinear optical applications such as all-optical switching, biosensing and signal processing.

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We have investigated the second-harmonic generation (SHG) and dipole-dipole interaction in a quantum dot and metallic nanoparticle hybrid system. A strong probe field is applied to create two-photon absorption in the quantum dot and metallic nanoparticle. SHG photons and SHG surface plasmon polaritons are emitted by the quantum dot and metallic nanoparticle, respectively. Induced dipoles are created in the quantum dot and the metallic nanoparticle due to two-photon absorption and hence both systems interact with each other via the dipole-dipole interaction. It is found that SHG signals produced by the quantum dot and nanoparticle are enhanced by the dipole-dipole interaction and also that the SHG signal can be switched on and off by applying a control field. The theoretical findings of this paper are supported by recent experimental studies. The present hybrid system can be used to fabricate nano-sensors and all-optical nano-switching devices.

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We have demonstrated energy transfer between a biological labelling dye (Alexa Fluor 405) and gold nanorods experimentally and theoretically. The fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy and density matrix method are used to study a hybrid system of dye and nanorods under one- and two-photon excitations. Energy transfer between dye and nanorods via the dipole-dipole interaction is found to cause a decrease in the fluorescence lifetime change. Enhanced energy transfer from dye to nanorods is measured in the presence of an increased density of nanorods. This study has potential applications in fluorescence lifetime-based intra-cellular sensing of bio-analytes as well as nuclear targeting cancer therapy.

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It is known that surface-plasmon resonances of metallic nanoparticles can significantly enhance the field experienced by semiconductor quantum dots. In this paper we show that, when quantum dots are in the vicinity of metallic nanoparticles and interact with coherent light sources (laser fields), coherent exciton-plasmon coupling (quantum coherence effects) can increase the amount of the plasmonic field enhancement significantly. We also study how the coherent molecular resonances generated by such a coupling process are influenced by the self-renormalization of the plasmonic fields and the structural parameters of the systems, particularly the size and shape of the metallic nanoparticle. The renormalization process happens via mutual impacts of the radiative decay rate of excitons and the coherent exciton-plasmon coupling on each other. Our results highlight the conditions where the molecular resonances become very sharp, offering optical switching processes with high extinction ratio and wide ranging device applications.

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Thin films of Bi(x)Ce(3-x)Fe(5)O(12) with x = 0.7 and 0.8 compositions were prepared by using pulsed laser deposition. We investigated the effects of processing parameters used to fabricate these films by measuring various physical properties such as X-ray diffraction, transmittance, magnetization and Faraday rotation. In this study, we propose a phase diagram which provides a suitable window for the deposition of Bi(x)Ce(3-x)Fe(5)O(12) epitaxial films. We have also observed a giant Faraday rotation of 1-1.10 degree/µm in our optimized films. The measured Faraday rotation value is 1.6 and 50 times larger than that of CeYIG and YIG respectively. A theoretical model has been proposed for Faraday rotation based on density matrix method and an excellent agreement between experiment and theory is found.

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We study the variation of the energy absorption rate in a hybrid semiconductor quantum dot-metallic nanoparticle system doped in a photonic crystal. The quantum dot is taken as a three-level V-configuration system and is driven by two applied fields (probe and control). We consider that one of the excitonic resonance frequencies is near to the plasmonic resonance frequency of the metallic nanoparticle, and is driven by the probe field. The other excitonic resonance frequency is far from both the plasmonic resonance frequency and the photonic bandgap edge, and is driven by the control field. In the absence of the photonic crystal we found that the system supports three excitonic-induced transparencies in the energy absorption spectrum of the metallic nanoparticle. We show that the photonic crystal allows us to manipulate the frequencies of such excitonic-induced transparencies and the amplitude of the energy absorption rate.

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We investigate the current-voltage relationship and the temperature-dependent conductance of nano-scale samples of poly(dA)-poly(dT) DNA molecules. A polaron hopping model has been used to calculate the I-V characteristic of nano-scale samples of DNA. This model agrees with the data for current versus voltage at temperatures greater than 100 K. The quantities G(0), i(0), and T(1d) are determined empirically, and the conductivity is estimated for samples of poly(dA)-poly(dT).

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Here, we study the resonant photonic states of photonic double quantum well (PDQW) heterostructures composed of two different photonic crystals. The heterostructure is denoted as B/A/B/A/B, where photonic crystals A and B act as photonic wells and barriers, respectively. The resulting band structure causes photons to become confined within the wells, where they occupy discrete quantized states. We have obtained an expression for the transmission coefficient of the PDQW heterostructure using the transfer matrix method and have found that resonant states exist within the photonic wells. These resonant states occur in split pairs, due to a coupling between degenerate states shared by each of the photonic wells. It is observed that when the resonance energy lies at a bound photonic state and the two photonic quantum wells are far away from each other, resonant states appear in the transmission spectrum of the PDQW as single peaks. However, when the wells are brought closer together, coupling between bound photonic states causes an energy-splitting effect, and the transmitted states each have two peaks. Essentially, this means that the system can be switched between single and double transparent states. We have also observed that the total number of resonant states can be controlled by varying the width of the photonic wells, and the quality factor of transmitted peaks can be drastically improved by increasing the thickness of the outer photonic barriers. It is anticipated that the resonant states described here can be used to develop new types of photonic-switching devices, optical filters, and other optoelectronic devices.

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The effect of the dipole-dipole interaction (DDI) on absorption processes has been investigated in photonic nanowires. They are manufactured by embedding a photonic crystal into another crystal. The embedded crystal is doped with an ensemble of three-level quantum dots. A probe field is applied to monitor the absorption coefficient. A control field is applied to induce dipole moments in quantum dots. Owing to these fields dipoles are induced in quantum dots, and they interact with each other via the DDI. Quantum dots also interact with bound photon states of the nanowire via the electron-bound photon interaction. It is found that the system can be switched from a transparent state to an absorbing state through the DDI. The switching mechanism can be controlled by changing the location of a resonant energy in the quantum dots.

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A theory of polaron-hopping transport is studied in DNA in the presence of an electric field. The helix structure of DNA consists of a molecule of phosphoric acid, a molecule of sugar and a molecule of a nitrogen compound called a nitrogen base. The charge carriers are localized near the bases. Phonons are created due to internal motions such as changes in winding or the inclination angle of the helix. It is considered that, due to the interaction between a charge carrier and a phonon, a localized polaron is formed in the helix near a base. These internal motions also promote hopping of the localized polarons. By interacting with a phonon, the polaron undergoes a hopping process in the helix structure. We consider that the localized polaron sites are distributed randomly in both space and energy coordinates. A polaron hops from one site to another site in this space. Conduction is a result of many series of hops through this hopping space. This approach differs from the percolation method and others in the calculation of the conductivity. The present theory is used to explain the electric-field- and temperature-dependent conductivity experiments of DNA. A good agreement is found between theory and experiments.

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