Induced Transparency in Plasmon-Exciton Nanostructures for Sensing Applications

The effect of induced transparency, which is related to photoinduced bleaching of photoabsorbers, is being intensely studied and has many applications in the field of sensing. Along with this classical effect, numerous studies on induced transparency in coupled plasmon–exciton systems, which is accompanied by the formation of hybrid states, have been recently published. The formation of a new coupled system results in various spectral modifications. For example, induced transparency manifests itself as a narrow dip in the absorption spectrum of a coupled system. This effect can be used in sensing, the feasibility of which is the main objective here, where a variety of materials and methods for obtaining the induced transparency are considered. Various morphologies and geometries of plasmonic nanoparticles are discussed as well as types of molecular absorbers to assess the most favorable combinations for the evolvement of induced transparency. The potential applications of the induced transparency effect in sensing and molecular diagnostics are summarized.
The Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation, grant no. 14.Y26.31.0011, supported this study. Support from the project Fis2016.80174-P (PLASMOQUANTA) from MINECO (Ministerio de Economiá y Competitividad), Spain, is also acknowledged.