Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions
The precise and deterministic integration of fluorescent emitters with photonic nanostructures is an important challenge in nanophotonics and key to the realization of hybrid photonic systems, supporting effects such as emission enhancement, directional emission, and strong coupling. Such integratio...
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| Format: | Article |
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MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Nanomaterials |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/3/219 |
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| author | Marijn Rikers Ayesheh Bashiri Ángela Barreda Michael Steinert Duk-Yong Choi Thomas Pertsch Isabelle Staude |
| author_facet | Marijn Rikers Ayesheh Bashiri Ángela Barreda Michael Steinert Duk-Yong Choi Thomas Pertsch Isabelle Staude |
| author_sort | Marijn Rikers |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The precise and deterministic integration of fluorescent emitters with photonic nanostructures is an important challenge in nanophotonics and key to the realization of hybrid photonic systems, supporting effects such as emission enhancement, directional emission, and strong coupling. Such integration typically requires the definition or immobilization of the emitters at defined positions with nanoscale precision. While various methods were already developed for creating localized emitters, in this work we present a new method for the deterministic fabrication of fluorescent nanostructures featuring well-defined optical transitions; it works with a minimal amount of steps and is scalable. Specifically, electron-beam lithography is used to directly pattern a mixture of the negative-tone electron-beam resist with the europium complex Eu(TTA)<sub>3</sub>, which exhibits both electric and magnetic dipolar transitions. Crucially, the lithography process enables precise control over the shape and position of the resulting fluorescent structures with a feature size of approx. 100 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="normal">n</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula><inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. We demonstrate that the Eu(TTA)<sub>3</sub> remains fluorescent after exposure, confirming that the electron beam does not alter the structure the optical transitions. This work supports the experimental study of local density of optical states in nanophotonics. It also expands the knowledge base of fluorescent polymer materials, which can have applications in polymer-based photonic devices. Altogether, the presented fabrication method opens the door for the realization of hybrid nanophotonic systems incorporating fluorescent emitters for light-emitting dielectric metasurfaces. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-5b355f5e23b749c2bce5252443560e48 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2079-4991 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Nanomaterials |
| spelling | doaj-art-5b355f5e23b749c2bce5252443560e482025-08-20T02:12:31ZengMDPI AGNanomaterials2079-49912025-01-0115321910.3390/nano15030219Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical TransitionsMarijn Rikers0Ayesheh Bashiri1Ángela Barreda2Michael Steinert3Duk-Yong Choi4Thomas Pertsch5Isabelle Staude6Institute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, GermanyInstitute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, GermanyInstitute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, GermanyInstitute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 07745 Jena, GermanyARC Center for Transformative Meta Optics, Department of Quantum Science and Technology, Research School of Physics, Australian National University, 60 Mills Rd., Canberra, ACT 2601, AustraliaInstitute of Applied Physics, Abbe Center of Photonics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Albert-Einstein-Str. 15, 07745 Jena, GermanyInstitute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Max-Wien-Platz 1, 07743 Jena, GermanyThe precise and deterministic integration of fluorescent emitters with photonic nanostructures is an important challenge in nanophotonics and key to the realization of hybrid photonic systems, supporting effects such as emission enhancement, directional emission, and strong coupling. Such integration typically requires the definition or immobilization of the emitters at defined positions with nanoscale precision. While various methods were already developed for creating localized emitters, in this work we present a new method for the deterministic fabrication of fluorescent nanostructures featuring well-defined optical transitions; it works with a minimal amount of steps and is scalable. Specifically, electron-beam lithography is used to directly pattern a mixture of the negative-tone electron-beam resist with the europium complex Eu(TTA)<sub>3</sub>, which exhibits both electric and magnetic dipolar transitions. Crucially, the lithography process enables precise control over the shape and position of the resulting fluorescent structures with a feature size of approx. 100 <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="normal">n</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula><inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mi mathvariant="normal">m</mi></semantics></math></inline-formula>. We demonstrate that the Eu(TTA)<sub>3</sub> remains fluorescent after exposure, confirming that the electron beam does not alter the structure the optical transitions. This work supports the experimental study of local density of optical states in nanophotonics. It also expands the knowledge base of fluorescent polymer materials, which can have applications in polymer-based photonic devices. Altogether, the presented fabrication method opens the door for the realization of hybrid nanophotonic systems incorporating fluorescent emitters for light-emitting dielectric metasurfaces.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/3/219nano-fabricationlocalized emittersEu<sup>3+</sup>magnetic dipole transitionselectron beam lithography |
| spellingShingle | Marijn Rikers Ayesheh Bashiri Ángela Barreda Michael Steinert Duk-Yong Choi Thomas Pertsch Isabelle Staude Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions Nanomaterials nano-fabrication localized emitters Eu<sup>3+</sup> magnetic dipole transitions electron beam lithography |
| title | Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions |
| title_full | Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions |
| title_fullStr | Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions |
| title_short | Deterministic Fabrication of Fluorescent Nanostructures Featuring Distinct Optical Transitions |
| title_sort | deterministic fabrication of fluorescent nanostructures featuring distinct optical transitions |
| topic | nano-fabrication localized emitters Eu<sup>3+</sup> magnetic dipole transitions electron beam lithography |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-4991/15/3/219 |
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