Abstract
The field of plasmonics has been shown to possess a versatile property of localized field enhancement around noble metal nano-systems that has been researched extensively in the context of sensing, communication, and microscopy, among others. Additionally, semiconducting nanotechnologies has seen great advances in recent history owing to their attractive optical properties that has landed them in the cutting edge of research with applications into display technologies, microscopy, and sensing. Therefore, it seems natural to see the two fields joined resulting in exciting research outputs that continue to shape the way nanotechnology is studied. To this end, this thesis focuses on the combined optical behaviour of plasmonic and semiconducting nanoparticles to help advance this progressive field. Here, Quantum Dots (QDs) were used as the semiconducting nanoparticles of choice. To do so, different methods of fabrication were explored that utilises both gold nanostructures and QDs, and their optical behaviours were investigated in terms of their energy coupling and transfer.Firstly, a relatively sophisticated lithographic method will be introduced, allowing for fine control of nanoparticle and nanostructure positioning. The viability of such a technique shall be discussed for certain industrial purposes and how recent developments may be used to overcome certain shortcomings including throughput and resolution limits related to electron scattering. Secondly, the fluorescence lifetime of an alternative gold-QD layered structure and a colloidally shelled gold-QD hybrid construction are investigated as a potential platform for light harvesting applications. For both, a pulsed laser source is used to excite the samples and the excitation behaviour over each pulse cycle is studied. It was demonstrated that the structures fabricated possess excellent optical energy transfer characteristics that may make them suitable for energy harvesting platforms.
| Date of Award | 1 Dec 2023 |
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| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Supervisor | Aliaksandra Rakovich (Supervisor) & Francisco Rodriguez Fortuno (Supervisor) |