title: Photoresistance switching of plasmonic nanopores.
abstract: Fast and reversible modulation of ion flow through nanosized apertures is important for many nanofluidic applications, including sensing and separation systems. Here, we present the first demonstration of a reversible plasmon-controlled nanofluidic valve. We show that plasmonic nanopores (solid-state nanopores integrated with metal nanocavities) can be used as a fluidic switch upon optical excitation. We systematically investigate the effects of laser illumination of single plasmonic nanopores and experimentally demonstrate photoresistance switching where fluidic transport and ion flow are switched on or off. This is manifested as a large (∼ 1-2 orders of magnitude) increase in the ionic nanopore resistance and an accompanying current rectification upon illumination at high laser powers (tens of milliwatts). At lower laser powers, the resistance decreases monotonically with increasing power, followed by an abrupt transition to high resistances at a certain threshold power. A similar rapid transition, although at a lower threshold power, is observed when the power is instead swept from high to low power. This hysteretic behavior is found to be dependent on the rate of the power sweep. The photoresistance switching effect is attributed to plasmon-induced formation and growth of nanobubbles that reversibly block the ionic current through the nanopore from one side of the membrane. This explanation is corroborated by finite-element simulations of a nanobubble in the nanopore that show the switching and the rectification.
authors.affiliation: imec , Kapeldreef 75, Leuven B3001, Belgium.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Francesca
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Nicoli
authors.forename: Chang
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Liesbet
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lagae
authors.forename: Guido
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Groeseneken
authors.forename: Tim
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Stakenborg
authors.forename: Henny W
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Zandbergen
authors.forename: Cees
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dekker
authors.forename: Pol
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Van Dorpe
authors.forename: Magnus P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Jonsson
mesh_terms: D056656:Lab-On-A-Chip Devices; D008567:Membranes, Artificial; D058608:Nanopores; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance
chemical_list: D008567:Membranes, Artificial
keywords: nanobubble; optofluidic nanovalve; photoresistance switching; plasmonic nanopores