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Optics Express

Optical bistability in a heterodimer composed of a quantum dot and a metallic nanoshell

Wenhao Zhao, Meng‐Dong He, Lin-Wen Long, Yuxiang Peng, Si Xiao, Jian-Bo Li, Li‐Qun Chen

Published Jul 20, 2023• 14 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We theoretically explore the conditions for generating optical bistability (OB) in a heterodimer comprised of a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) and a metallic nanoshell (MNS). The MNS is made of a metallic nanosphere as a core and a dielectric material as a shell. For the specific hybrid system considered, the bistable effect appears only if the frequency of the pump field is equal to (or slightly less than) the exciton frequency for a proper shell thickness. Bistability phase diagrams, when plotted, show that the dipole-induced bistable region can be greatly broadened by changing the shell thickness of the MNS in a strong exciton-plasmon coupling regime. In particular, we demonstrate that the multipole polarization not only narrows the bistable zone but also enlarges the corresponding thresholds for a given intermediate scaled pumping intensity. On the other hand, when the SQD couples strongly with the MNS, the multipole polarization can also significantly broaden the bistable region and induce a great suppression of the FWM (four-wave mixing) signal for a fixed shell thickness. These interesting findings offer a fresh understanding of the bistability conditions in an SQD/MNS heterodimer, and may be useful in the fabrication of high-performance and low-threshold optical bistable nanodevices.

DOI
10.1364/oe.496184

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arXiv:1209.3255•The Journal of Chemical Physics•Jul 1, 2013•62 citations
We theoretically explore the conditions for generating optical bistability (OB) in a heterodimer comprised of a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) and a metallic nanoshell (MNS). The MNS is made of a metallic nanosphere as a core and a dielectric material as a shell. For the specific hybrid system considered, the bistable effect appears only if the frequency of the pump field is equal to (or slightly less than) the exciton frequency for a proper shell thickness. Bistability phase diagrams, when plotted, show that the dipole-induced bistable region can be greatly broadened by changing the shell thickness of the MNS in a strong exciton-plasmon coupling regime. In particular, we demonstrate that the multipole polarization not only narrows the bistable zone but also enlarges the corresponding thresholds for a given intermediate scaled pumping intensity. On the other hand, when the SQD couples strongly with the MNS, the multipole polarization can also significantly broaden the bistable region and induce a great suppression of the FWM (four-wave mixing) signal for a fixed shell thickness. These interesting findings offer a fresh understanding of the bistability conditions in an SQD/MNS heterodimer, and may be useful in the fabrication of high-performance and low-threshold optical bistable nanodevices.
We theoretically study the optical bistability assisted by multipole polarizations in a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD)/metal nanoparticle (MNP) hybrid molecule. We map out bistability phase diagrams within the parameter subspace spanned by (the pumping intensity Ipu, interparticle distance, d) under dipole and multipole approximations. It is shown that the Ipu-correlated bistable region will be broadened greatly in the strong exciton–plasmon coupling regime, and the corresponding lower (upper) bistable threshold is enlarged significantly due to multipole polarization (N = 10) in comparison to that in the dipole approximation (N = 1). However, under the same conditions, the d-correlated bistable region is shrunk at high pump intensities. Our contribution not only offers a better understanding of exciton–plasmon coupling systems but also expands the application of SQD/MNP hybrid molecules in the field of optical bistable nanodevices.
We investigate optical bistability (OB) in a hybrid system comprising a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD), a metallic nanoshell (MNS), and a cell membrane within the framework of the multipole approximation. Bistability phase diagrams plotted in the system’s parameter subspaces demonstrate that, in the weak exciton–phonon coupling regime, dynamic switching of bistable states among no-channel, single-channel, and dual-channel configurations can be achieved via precise modulation of the MNS’s dielectric shell thickness. Especially, a critical sensing threshold is identified: the absorption peak disappears and a bistable effect emerges when only 1.82% of normal cells undergo malignant transformation. Furthermore, the bistable region exhibits a gradual broadening trend with an increasing proportion of cancerous cells, yielding a quantitative and ultra-sensitive readout that underpins a highly accurate strategy for early cancer diagnosis. These findings not only deepen our fundamental understanding of bistability regulation in hybrid quantum-plasmonic systems interfaced with biological materials but also offer valuable insights for the development of next-generation optical switches and biomedical sensing platforms.
We theoretically present a flexible method to obtain dual-channel optical bistability (OB) in a coupled system consisting of a metallic nanoshell (MNS) and a carbon nanotube (CNT) nanomechanical resonator (NR) beyond the dipole approximation. The MNS is made of a metallic core and a dielectric shell. The results show that, the four-wave mixing signal is suppressed significantly due to multipole polarizations in comparison to that in the dipole approximation. Also, the four-wave mixing signal can be enhanced greatly with the exciton-phonon coupling strength g increasing. Especially, bistability phase diagrams plotted show that, for a given shell thickness, it is realizable to achieve one (or two) bistable region(s) by adjusting the pumping intensity (or the MNS-NR distance). In a strong exciton-plasmon coupling regime, OB can be switched from single-channel to dual-channel by only changing the dielectric shell thickness or the metallic core radius. This indicates that the system proposed can behave as a channel-tunable bistable switch. Our findings may have potential applications in various domains such as quantum communication and optical functional devices.
We investigate theoretically four-wave mixing (FWM) response and optical bistability (OB) in a hybrid nanosystem composed of a metal nanoparticle (MNP) and a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD) coupled to a nanomechanical resonator (NR). It is shown that the FWM signal is enhanced by more than three orders of magnitude as compared to that of the system without exciton-phonon interaction, and the FWM signal can also be suppressed significantly and broadened due to the exciton-plasmon interaction. As the MNP couples strongly with the SQD, the bistable FWM response can be achieved by adjusting the SQD-MNP distance and the pumping intensity. For a given pumping constant and a fixed SQD-MNP distance, the enhanced exciton-phonon interaction can promote the occurrence of bistability. Our findings not only present a feasible way to detect the spacing between two nanoparticles, but also hold promise for developing quantum switches and nanoscale rulers.
Optical response of a complex nanodimer comprising a semiconductor quantum dot via Coulomb interaction to a metal nanorod is analyzed theoretically. Optical bistability (OB) behavior of a coherently coupled exciton-plasmon (plexcitonic) hybrid system under a laser field is investigated. The bistable exciton population in a hybrid metal–semiconductor nanodimer response is shown, and it could be pointed out that OB behavior is strongly influenced by various parameters such as size of metal nanoparticle, interparticle distance as well as intensity of probe laser field. We show that OB can be observed for a plexcitonic system and depends strongly on the type of the metals which are good candidates for plasmonic applications. The numerical calculations show the gold nanorod exhibits significant optical bistability. The result promises various applications in the field of all-optical information processing at the nanoscale, the most basic of them being the optical switching, optical memory, optical transistor and optical logic.
We conduct a theoretical study of the bistable optical response of a nanoparticle heterodimer comprised of a closely spaced semiconductor quantum dot and a metal nanoparticle. The bistable nature of the response results from the interplay between the quantum dot's optical nonlinearity and its self-action (feedback) originating from the presence of the metal nanoparticle. The feedback is governed by a complex valued coupling parameter G = G(R) + iG(I). We calculate the bistability phase diagram within the system's parameter space: spanned by G(R), G(I), and Δ, the latter being the detuning between the driving frequency and the transition frequency of the quantum dot. Additionally, switching times from the lower stable branch to the upper one (and vice versa) are calculated as a function of the intensity of the driving field. The conditions for bistability to occur can be realized, for example, for a heterodimer comprised of a closely spaced CdSe (or CdSe/ZnSe) quantum dot and a gold nanosphere.