Selective plasmon enhancement of the 1.08 μm Nd3+ laser Stark transition by tailoring Ag nanoparticles chains on a PPLN Y-cut.
Selective photoluminescence enhancement of the specific Nd(3+) Stark transition for which laser gain has been obtained in Nd(3+)/LiNbO3 is demonstrated by means of plasmonic resonances with the appropriate symmetry configuration. By using the nonpolar Y-cut of a periodically poled LiNbO3 crystal as platform for photoreduction of metallic nanostructures, periodically distributed chains of Ag nanoparticles oriented parallel to the ferroelectric c-axis are obtained. This alternative metallic nanostructure configuration supports the resonance between the localized surface plasmon and exclusively the π-polarized Stark laser line of Nd(3+) ions at 1.08 μm, while maintaining the remaining crystal field transitions unchanged. The work provides the experimental proof on how plasmonic-based optical antennas can be used to influence selectively rare earth optical Stark transitions to improve the performance of solid state laser gain media.
Department of Física de Materiales and Instituto Nicolás Cabrera, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid , Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid, Spain.
Pablo
P
Molina
Eduardo
E
Yraola
Mariola O
MO
Ramírez
José L
JL
Plaza
Carmen
C
de las Heras
Luisa E
LE
Bausá