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Optics Express

Tailoring Kerr nonlinearity in a quantum dot-metallic nanoshell-cell membrane hybrid system for high-sensitivity cancer cell detection

Yi-Ling Peng, Lin-Wen Long, Jian-Bo Li, Hong-Mei Gong

Published Oct 6, 2025• 3 citations
Publisher

Abstract

We develop a theory to investigate Kerr nonlinearity in a hybrid nanosystem integrating a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD), a metallic nanoshell (MNS) consisting of a metallic inner core and a dielectric outer shell, and a cell membrane. Beyond the dipole approximation, an analytical expression for the Kerr coefficient is derived, with key findings as follows: (1) The multipole effect enables a significant enhancement of the Kerr coefficient compared to the dipole approximation scenario, whereas increasing the spacing between the SQD and the MNS leads to substantial suppression of this coefficient; (2) The Kerr spectrum can be switched from a two-peaked to a three-peaked structure solely by tuning the exciton-phonon coupling strength; (3) The heights, positions, and full widths at half maximum (FWHM) of the two sideband peaks in the Kerr spectrum exhibit high sensitivity to both pumping intensity and dielectric shell thickness. Importantly, we demonstrate the feasibility of detecting the initiation of normal cell carcinogenesis by monitoring the heights, locations, and frequency shifts of these two sideband peaks. The proposed scheme exhibits promising applications in quantum information networks and biosensing.

DOI
10.1364/oe.577187

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We develop a theory to investigate Kerr nonlinearity in a hybrid nanosystem integrating a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD), a metallic nanoshell (MNS) consisting of a metallic inner core and a dielectric outer shell, and a cell membrane. Beyond the dipole approximation, an analytical expression for the Kerr coefficient is derived, with key findings as follows: (1) The multipole effect enables a significant enhancement of the Kerr coefficient compared to the dipole approximation scenario, whereas increasing the spacing between the SQD and the MNS leads to substantial suppression of this coefficient; (2) The Kerr spectrum can be switched from a two-peaked to a three-peaked structure solely by tuning the exciton-phonon coupling strength; (3) The heights, positions, and full widths at half maximum (FWHM) of the two sideband peaks in the Kerr spectrum exhibit high sensitivity to both pumping intensity and dielectric shell thickness. Importantly, we demonstrate the feasibility of detecting the initiation of normal cell carcinogenesis by monitoring the heights, locations, and frequency shifts of these two sideband peaks. The proposed scheme exhibits promising applications in quantum information networks and biosensing.
We propose a scheme for achieving ultrastrong slow light in a hybrid nanosystem consisting of a metallic nanoshell (MNS), a semiconductor quantum dot (SQD), and a cell membrane. The MNS is composed of a metallic inner core and a dielectric outer shell. We derive the analytical expressions for the linear susceptibility and group velocity index under the multipole approximation. It is shown that the amplitudes and positions of the absorption peaks, as well as the group velocity index, depend strongly on the exciton-pump detuning, MNS-SQD distance, dielectric shell thickness, and exciton-phonon coupling strength. Especially, the amplitude of the characteristic absorption peak associated with the cell membrane can be enhanced by over 2200 times by only tuning the exciton-phonon coupling strength within an extremely narrow range. In an intermediate exciton-phonon coupling regime, the group velocity index rises abruptly from 86.13 to 2.87 × 10 11 with the pump intensity varied from 10 GHz 2 to 22.41 GHz 2 . Furthermore, we demonstrate that the precise monitoring of the cellular carcinogenesis degree can be realized by detecting the fast-to-slow light switching point, with the corresponding proportion of cancerous cells as low as 1.71%. Our findings exhibit broad application prospects in optical signal amplifiers and biosensors.
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 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 have developed a theory for the Kerr nonlinearity in nanohybrids made of an ensemble of metallic nanoshells and low concentration of quantum emitters. A metallic nanoshell is made of a metallic core sphere and dielectric shell. We consider that quantum emitters are four-level quantum systems. When a probe laser light falls in the metallic nanoshells, the surface plasmon polariton electric field is produced at the interface between the metal sphere and dielectric shell. This electric field along with the probe field induces dipoles in metallic nanoshells. These dipoles interact with each other via the dipole-dipole interaction. The Kerr nonlinearity has been calculated by using the quantum density matrix method in the presence of the dipole-dipole interaction (coupling). We found that in the weak-coupling limit there is an enhancement in the Kerr nonlinearity. On the other hand, in the strong-coupling limit, the peaks in the Kerr coefficient split from two peaks to four peaks when the frequency of the dipole electric field is in the resonance with the exciton frequency. The splitting in the spectrum is due to the presence of the dressed sates created in the system. We showed that heights and locations of peaks are very sensitive to the strength of the dipole-dipole interaction. Physics of the enhancement can be used fabricate Kerr nanosensors. On the other hand, physics of the splitting from two peaks (ON) to four peaks (OFF) can be used to fabricate Kerr nanoswitches.
A theory of a switching and sensing mechanisms using the Kerr nonlinearity has been developed for nanohybrids made of an ensemble of three-level quantum emitters and metallic nanoshells. We have calculated the surface plasmon polaritons at interface between the metallic core and dielectric shell of the metallic nanoshell. The Kerr nonlinearity has been calculated by using the quantum density matrix method in the dipole–dipole coupling between quantum emitters. We showed that the switching and sensing mechanisms due to the Kerr nonlinearity are made of four contributions. The first contribution is due to three probe photons and the second one is due to one polariton and two probe photons. On other hand, the third contribution is due to the two polaritons and one probe photon, and the fourth one is due to three polaritons. The enhancement in the Kerr nonlinearity is found, and it is due to second, third, and fourth contributions. This prediction can be used to fabricate all optical Kerr nanosensors. It is also shown that two peaks (ON) in the Kerr coefficient can be switched to four peaks (OFF) due to the strong dipole–dipole coupling. We have also predicted that the Kerr coefficient can be switched from the positive value (ON) to the negative value (OFF) by changing the dipole–dipole coupling. We found that the minimum of the Kerr coefficient changes sign from positive (ON) to negative (OFF) as the dipole–dipole coupling strength increases. The splitting in the Kerr spectrum is due to the presence of the dressed states created in the nanohybrid due the dipole–dipole interaction. These predictions can be used to fabricate all optical Kerr nanoswitches.
In this study, we investigate the linear optical response in a hybrid nanostructure composed of a semiconductor quantum dot and a metal shell nanoparticle. We analyze a case wherein the nanostructure interacts with an incident electromagnetic field with polarization parallel to the symmetry axis of the nanosystem. We derive nonlinear density matrix equations in the rotating wave approximation under the quasistatic response of the system, and use a series expansion method to obtain analytical functions for linear susceptibility with respect to both components of the nanostructure. The imaginary part of these expressions is related to the absorption coefficient. We investigate the way in which the modification of the core’s material affects the characteristics of the spectral resonance. For low values of the dielectric constant, the system exhibits amplified gain without population inversion and quenched absorption resonance, while for high values of the dielectric constant, we observe suppression of the gain dip and enhancement of the absorption resonance. In the first regime, the exciton lifetime is suppressed, and in the second case, its value is importantly increased, especially in the case of small interparticle distances where the semiconductor quantum dot and metal shell nanoparticle interact strongly.