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Herein, we demonstrate a cavity-enhanced hyperspectral refractometric imaging using an all-dielectric photonic crystal slab (PhCS). Our approach takes advantage of the synergy between two mechanisms, surface-enhanced fluorescence (SEF) and refractometric sensing, both based on high-Q resonances in proximity of bound states in the continuum (BICs). The enhanced local optical field of the first resonance amplifies of 2 orders of magnitude the SEF emission of a probe dye. Simultaneously, hyperspectral refractometric sensing, based on Fano interference between second mode and fluorescence emission, is used for mapping the spatially variant refractive index produced by the specimen on the PhCS. The spectral matching between first resonance and input laser is modulated by the specimen local refractive index, and thanks to the calibrated dependence with the spectral shift of the Fano resonance, the cavity tuning is used to achieve an enhanced correlative refractometric map with a resolution of 10-5 RIU within femtoliter-scale sampling volumes. This is experimentally applied also on live prostate cancer cells grown on the PhCS, reconstructing enhanced surface refractive index images at the single-cell level. This dual mechanism of quasi-BIC spatially variant gain tracked by quasi-BIC refractometric sensing provides a correlative imaging platform that can find application in many fields for monitoring physical and biochemical processes, such as molecular interactions, chemical reactions, or surface cell analysis.

F\"orster Resonant Energy Transfer (FRET)-mediated exciton diffusion through artificial nanoscale building block assemblies could be used as a new optoelectronic design element to transport energy. However, so far nanocrystal (NC) systems supported only diffusion length of 30 nm, which are too small to be useful in devices. Here, we demonstrate a FRET-mediated exciton diffusion length of 200 nm with 0.5 cm2/s diffusivity through an ordered, two-dimensional assembly of cesium lead bromide perovskite nanocrystals (PNC). Exciton diffusion was directly measured via steady-state and time-resolved photoluminescence (PL) microscopy, with physical modeling providing deeper insight into the transport process. This exceptionally efficient exciton transport is facilitated by PNCs high PL quantum yield, large absorption cross-section, and high polarizability, together with minimal energetic and geometric disorder of the assembly. This FRET-mediated exciton diffusion length matches perovskites optical absorption depth, opening the possibility to design new optoelectronic device architectures with improved performances, and providing insight into the high conversion efficiencies of PNC-based optoelectronic devices.

Plasmon-enhanced fluorescence is demonstrated in the vicinity of metal surfaces due to strong local field enhancement. Meanwhile, fluorescence quenching is observed as the spacing between fluorophore molecules and the adjacent metal is reduced below a threshold of a few nanometers. Here, we introduce a technology, placing the fluorophore molecules in plasmonic hotspots between pairs of collapsible nanofingers with tunable gap sizes at sub-nanometer precision. Optimal gap sizes with maximum plasmon enhanced fluorescence are experimentally identified for different dielectric spacer materials. The ultrastrong local field enhancement enables simultaneous detection and characterization of sharp Raman fingerprints in the fluorescence spectra. This platform thus enables in situ monitoring of competing excitation enhancement and emission quenching processes. We systematically investigate the mechanisms behind fluorescence quenching. A quantum mechanical model is developed which explains the experimental data and will guide the future design of plasmon enhanced spectroscopy applications.

Drastic chemical interface plasmon damping is induced by the ultrathin (∼2 nm) titanium (Ti) adhesion layer; alternatively, molecular adhesion is implemented for lithographic fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures without significant distortion of the plasmonic characteristics. As determined from the homogeneous linewidth of the resonance scattering spectrum of individual gold nanorods, an ultrathin Ti layer reduces the plasmon dephasing time significantly, and it reduces the plasmon scattering amplitude drastically. The increased damping rate and decreased plasmon amplitude are due to the dissipative dielectric function of Ti and the chemical interface plasmon damping where the conduction electrons are transferred across the metal-metal interface. In addition, a pronounced red shift due to the Ti adhesion layer, more than predicted using electromagnetic simulation, suggests the prevalence of interfacial reactions. By extending the experiment to conductively coupled ring-rod nanostructures, it is shown that a sharp Fano-like resonance feature is smeared out due to the Ti layer. Alternatively, vapor deposition of (3-mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane on gently cleaned and activated lithographic patterns functionalizes the glass surface sufficiently to link the gold nanostructures to the surface by sulfur-gold chemical bonds without observable plasmon damping effects.

Near-field scanning optical microscopy enables the simultaneous topographical and subdiffraction limited optical imaging of surfaces. A process is presented for the implementation of single individually engineered gold cones at the tips of atomic force microscopy cantilevers. These cantilevers act as novel high-performance optical near-field probes. In the fabrication, thin-film metallization, electron beam induced deposition of etch masks, and Ar ion milling are combined. The cone constitutes a well-defined highly efficient optical antenna with a tip radius on the order of 10 nm and an adjustable plasmon resonance frequency. The sharp tip enables high resolution topographical imaging. By controllably varying the cone size, the resonance frequency can be adapted to the application of choice. Structural properties of these sharp-tipped probes are presented together with topographical images recorded with a cone probe. The antenna functionality is demonstrated by gathering the near-field enhanced Raman signature of individual carbon nanotubes with a gold cone scanning probe.

We present a systematic study on the thermal nanoimprinting of a boron subphthalocynamine molecule, 2-allylphenoxy-(subphthalocyaninato)boron(III) (SubPc-A), which represents a class of attractive small-molecular weight organic compounds for organic-based photovoltaics (OPV). The final equilibrium imprinted feature profile strongly depends on the imprinting temperature. The highest feature aspect ratio (or contrast) occurs at a specific window of imprinting temperatures (80-90 degrees C). X-ray diffraction indicates that the nanoimprint at such a temperature window can induce high-degree molecular stacking, which can help stabilize the imprinted features. Outside this window, we observed a pronounced relaxation of imprinted features after template removal, which is attributed to the surface diffusion. Key factors affecting the final equilibrium profile of the imprinted features were simulated. From the simulation, it was found that the crystallization-induced anisotropy of surface energy stabilized imprinted features. Simulated parameters such as stable feature aspect ratio and pitch agree well with experimental data. Such work provides an important guideline for optimizing the nanopatterning of small-molecular-weight organic compounds.

We observe single nanoparticle translocation events via resistive pulse sensing using silicon nitride pores described by a range of lengths and diameters. Pores are prepared by focused ion beam milling in 50 nm-, 100 nm-, and 500 nm-thick silicon nitride membranes with diameters fabricated to accommodate spherical silica nanoparticles with sizes chosen to mimic that of virus particles. In this manner, we are able to characterize the role of pore geometry in three key components of the detection scheme, namely, event magnitude, event duration, and event frequency. We find that the electric field created by the applied voltage and the pore's geometry is a critical factor. We develop approximations to describe this field, which are verified with computer simulations, and interactions between particles and this field. In so doing, we formulate what we believe to be the first approximation for the magnitude of ionic current blockage that explicitly addresses the invariance of access resistance of solid-state pores during particle translocation. These approximations also provide a suitable foundation for estimating the zeta potential of the particles and/or pore surface when studied in conjunction with event durations. We also verify that translocation achieved by electro-osmostic transport is an effective means of slowing translocation velocities of highly charged particles without compromising particle capture rate as compared to more traditional approaches based on electrophoretic transport.

A method for the templated DNA-directed self-assembly of individual gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) into discrete nanostructures is described. The templating nanostructures consisted of a linear configuration of six metal dots with a center-to-center dot distance of 55 nm, fabricated by means of electron beam lithography. The 40 nm DNA-capped AuNPs were immobilized onto this templating nanostructure to produce a linear configuration of six adjacent AuNPs. The geometry of the templating nanostructure was found to be critically important for the successful direction of a single nanoparticle onto individual adsorption sites. For optimized template structures the immobilization efficiency of nanoparticles onto the individual adsorption sites was found to be 80%. The nonspecific association of nanoparticles with specifically adsorbed nanoparticles and the between adsorption of nanoparticles, bridging two individual adsorption sites, were the two main defects observed in the immobilized assemblies. Less than 1% of all surface confined AuNPs adsorbed nonspecifically in the areas between the self-assembled regular arrays.