arXiv subjects

Serge Ravaine

Publications and source records attributed to Serge Ravaine.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

arXiv2026

Band-Selective LDOS Engineering of Yb/Er Upconversion: an Electromagnetic-Kinetic Diagnostic Framework

A persistent challenge in plasmonic upconversion is decoupling pump-field enhancement from emission-side local-density-of-optical-states (LDOS) engineering to achieve selective band manipulation. Here, we show that a corrugated SU8/Au/Al2O3 grating coated with a NaYF4:Yb/Er upconversion nanoparticle (UCNP) monolayer realizes a truly band-selective platform. A broad plasmonic resonance near 670 nm modulates the red Er 3 + 3+ decay rate by $\pm$15% as a function of the Al2O3 spacer thickness, while leaving the green transition experimentally invariant (< 1% change). Simultaneously, the 980 nm pump field is monotonically suppressed below free-space levels, ensuring that steady-state and time-resolved observables cleanly probe the emission-side LDOS without pump interference. We analyze this system using a coupled electromagnetic-kinetic framework that integrates finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) calculations of Purcell factors and pump fields with a six-level Yb/Er rate-equation model. The framework quantitatively reproduces the 670 nm plasmonic resonance, the red-band decay-rate modulation, and the monotonic decrease of the green/red intensity ratio. Crucially, the model serves as a powerful diagnostic tool: it overpredicts a green-band rate reduction, but systematic parametric testing rules out geometric (apex smoothing) and material (grain-boundary damping, interband loss) imperfections as the cause. Instead, it isolates the residual discrepancy to measurement-versus-model factors (finite-aperture angular averaging) and missing non-radiative kinetic channels, establishing a clear roadmap for the rational design and validation of future plasmonic-UCNP architectures.

physics.optics↗

arXiv2023

Transfer of multi-DNA patches by colloidal stamping

Patchy particles have received great attention due to their ability to develop directional and selective interactions and serve as building units for the self-assembly of innovative colloidal molecules and crystalline structures. Although synthesizing particles with multiple dissimilar patches is still highly challenging and lacks efficient methods, these building blocks would open paths towards a broader range of ordered materials with inherent properties. Herein, we describe a new approach to pattern functional DNA patches at the surface of particles, by the use of colloidal stamps. DNA inks are transferred only at the contact zones between the target particles and the stamps thanks to selective strand-displacement reactions. The produced DNA-patchy particles are ideal candidates to act as advanced precision/designer building blocks to self-assemble the next generation of colloidal materials.

cond-mat.soft↗

arXiv2019

Energy transfer and interference by collective electromagnetic coupling

The physics of collective optical response of molecular assemblies, pioneered by Dicke in 1954, has long been at the center of theoretical and experimental scrutiny. The influence of the environment on such phenomena is also of great interest due to various important applications in e.g. energy conversion devices. In this manuscript we demonstrate both experimentally and theoretically the spatial modulations of the collective decay rates of molecules placed in proximity to a metal interface. We show in a very simple framework how the cooperative optical response can be analyzed in terms of intermolecular correlations causing interference between the response of different molecules and the polarization induced on a nearby metallic boundary and predict similar collective interference phenomena in excitation energy transfer between molecular aggregates.

cond-mat.mes-hall↗

arXiv2019

High optical magnetism of dodecahedral plasmonic meta-atoms

The generation in artificial composites of a magnetic response to light comparable in magnitude with the natural electric response, may offer an invaluable control parameter for a fine steering of light at the nanoscale. In many experimental realizations however, the magnetic response of artificial meta-atoms is too weak so that there is a need for new designs with increased magnetic polarizability. Numerical simulations show that geometrical plasmonic nanostructures based on the ideal model of Platonic solids are excellent candidates for the production of strong optical magnetism in visible light. Inspired by this model, we developed a bottom-up approach to synthesize plasmonic nano-clusters made of twelve gold patched located at the center of the faces of a dodecahedron. The scattering of the electric and magnetic dipole induced by light are measured across the whole visible range. The ratio of the magnetic to electric response at resonance is found three times higher than its counterpart measured on disordered plasmonic clusters (plasmonic raspberries) of the same size. Numerical simulations confirm the experimental measurements of the magnetic response.

physics.optics↗