Plasmonic enhancement of photoacoustic-induced reflection changes

Appl Opt. 2021 Aug 20;60(24):7304-7313. doi: 10.1364/AO.432659.

Abstract

In this paper, we report on surface-plasmon-resonance enhancement of the time-dependent reflection changes caused by laser-induced acoustic waves. We measure an enhancement of the reflection changes induced by several acoustical modes, such as longitudinal, quasi-normal, and surface acoustic waves, by a factor of 10-20. We show that the reflection changes induced by the longitudinal and quasi-normal modes are enhanced in the wings of the surface plasmon polariton resonance. The surface acoustic wave-induced reflection changes are enhanced on the peak of this resonance. We attribute the enhanced reflection changes to the longitudinal wave and the quasi-normal mode to a shift in the surface plasmon polariton resonance via acoustically induced electron density changes and via grating geometry changes.