Nonthermal model for ultrafast laser-induced plasma generation around a plasmonic nanorod

作者:Labouret Timothee; Palpant Bruno*
来源:Physical Review B, 2016, 94(24): 245426.
DOI:10.1103/PhysRevB.94.245426

摘要

The excitation of plasmonic gold nanoparticles by ultrashort laser pulses can trigger interesting electron-based effects in biological media such as production of reactive oxygen species or cell membrane optoporation. In order to better understand the optical and thermal processes at play, we modeled the interaction of a subpicosecond, near-infrared laser pulse with a gold nanorod in water. A nonthermal model is used and compared to a simple two-temperature thermal approach. For both models, the computation of the transient optical response reveals strong plasmon damping. Electron emission from the metal into the water is also calculated in a specific way for each model. The dynamics of the resulting local plasma in water is assessed by a rate equation model. While both approaches provide similar results for the transient optical properties, the simple thermal one is unable to properly describe electron emission and plasma generation. The latter is shown to mostly originate from electron-electron thermionic emission and photoemission from the metal. Taking into account the transient optical response is mandatory to properly calculate both electron emission and local plasma dynamics in water.

  • 出版日期2016-12-21