Nonlinear Absorption and Fluorescence in ZnO and ZnO–Au Nanostructures

Abstract

This paper investigates whether coupling gold nanoparticles to nanostructured zinc oxide enhances fluorescence emission, to produce efficient nanoscale UV emitters that radiate through nonlinear optical absorption processes. The z‐scan technique is used to measure nonlinear absorption simultaneously with measurements of nonlinear‐absorption‐induced fluorescence in zinc oxide nanostructures and hybrid zinc oxide–gold nanostructures. This allows for better determination of the nonlinear excitation and energy dissipation pathways. The measurements show that the nonlinear absorption of the hybrid structures is enhanced by up to two orders of magnitude compared to the pure zinc oxide nanostructures. However, it is found that the increase in nonlinear absorption does not correspond to an equivalent increase in fluorescence due to the competition between two‐photon absorption and excited state absorption.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 04, 2016
Source ID
10.1002/adom.201600375

Entities

People

  • Eric R. Waclawik
  • Esa A. Jaatinen
  • Joseph F. S. Fernando
  • Matthew P. Shortell
  • Sarah L Walden

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory
  • Queensland University of Technology

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Quantum Dot Semiconductor Device Photonics and Graphene Optoelectronic Materials and THz Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics