Ahmet Ali Yanik

Fano-resonant asymmetric metamaterials for ultrasensitive spectroscopy and identification of molecular monolayers

Engineered optical metamaterials present a unique platform for biosensing applications owing to their ability to confine light to nanoscale regions and to their spectral selectivity. Infrared plasmonic metamaterials are especially attractive because their resonant response can be accurately tuned to that of the vibrational modes of the target biomolecules. Here we introduce an infrared plasmonic surface based on a Fano-resonant asymmetric metamaterial exhibiting sharp resonances caused by the interference between subradiant and superradiant plasmonic resonances. Owing to the metamaterials asymmetry, the frequency of the subradiant resonance can be precisely determined and matched to the molecules vibrational fingerprints. A multipixel array of Fano-resonant asymmetric metamaterials is used as a platform for multispectral biosensing of nanometre-scale monolayers of recognition proteins and their surface orientation, as well as for detecting chemical binding of target antibodies to recognition proteins.

Ultra-sensitive vibrational spectroscopy of protein monolayers with plasmonic nanoantenna arrays

Infrared absorption spectroscopy enabling direct access to vibrational fingerprints of the molecular structure is a powerful method for functional studies of bio-molecules. Although the intrinsic absorption cross-sections of IR active modes of proteins are nearly 10 orders of magnitude larger than the corresponding Raman cross-sections, they are still small compared to that of fluorescence-label based methods. Here, we developed a new tool based on collective excitation of plasmonic nanoantenna arrays and demonstrated direct detection of vibrational signatures of single protein monolayers. We first tailored the geometry of individual nanoantennas to form resonant structures that match the molecular vibrational modes. The tailored nanoantennas are then arranged in such a way that their in-phase dipolar coupling leads to a collective excitation of the ensemble with strongly enhanced near fields. The combined collective and individual plasmonic responses of the antenna array play a critical role in attaining signal enhancement factors of 104–105. We achieved measurement of the vibrational spectra of proteins at zeptomole levels for the entire array, corresponding to only 145 molecules per antenna. The near-field nature of the plasmonic enhancement of the absorption signals is demonstrated with progressive loading of the nanoantennas with varying protein film thicknesses. Finally, an advanced model based on nonequilibrium Greens function formalism is introduced, which explains the observed Fano-type absorption line-shapes and tuning of the absorption strengths with the antenna resonance.

Seeing protein monolayers with naked eye through plasmonic Fano resonances

We introduce an ultrasensitive label-free detection technique based on asymmetric Fano resonances in plasmonic nanoholes with far reaching implications for point-of-care diagnostics. By exploiting extraordinary light transmission phenomena through high-quality factor (Qsolution ∼ 200) subradiant dark modes, we experimentally demonstrate record high figures of merits (FOMs as high as 162) for intrinsic detection limits surpassing that of the gold standard prism coupled surface-plasmon sensors (Kretschmann configuration). Our experimental record high sensitivities are attributed to the nearly complete suppression of the radiative losses that are made possible by the high structural quality of the fabricated devices as well as the subradiant nature of the resonances. Steep dispersion of the plasmonic Fano resonance profiles in high-quality plasmonic sensors exhibit dramatic light intensity changes to the slightest perturbations within their local environment. As a spectacular demonstration of the extraordinary sensitivity and the quality of the fabricated biosensors, we show direct detection of a single monolayer of biomolecules with naked eye using these Fano resonances and the associated Wood’s anomalies. To fabricate high optical-quality sensors, we introduce a high-throughput lift-off free evaporation fabrication technique with extremely uniform and precisely controlled nanofeatures over large areas, leading to resonance line-widths comparable to that of the ideally uniform structures as confirmed by our time-domain simulations. The demonstrated label-free sensing platform offers unique opportunities for point-of-care diagnostics in resource poor settings by eliminating the need for fluorescent labeling and optical detection instrumentation (camera, spectrometer, etc.) as well as mechanical and light isolation.

An Optofluidic Nanoplasmonic Biosensor for Direct Detection of Live Viruses from Biological Media

Fast and sensitive virus detection techniques, which can be rapidly deployed at multiple sites, are essential to prevent and control future epidemics and bioterrorism threats. In this Letter, we demonstrate a label-free optofluidic nanoplasmonic sensor that can directly detect intact viruses from biological media at clinically relevant concentrations with little to no sample preparation. Our sensing platform is based on an extraordinary light transmission effect in plasmonic nanoholes and utilizes group-specific antibodies for highly divergent strains of rapidly evolving viruses. So far, the questions remain for the possible limitations of this technique for virus detection, as the penetration depths of the surface plasmon polaritons are comparable to the dimensions of the pathogens. Here, we demonstrate detection and recognition of small enveloped RNA viruses (vesicular stomatitis virus and pseudotyped Ebola) as well as large enveloped DNA viruses (vaccinia virus) within a dynamic range spanning 3 orders of magnitude. Our platform, by enabling high signal to noise measurements without any mechanical or optical isolation, opens up opportunities for detection of a broad range of pathogens in typical biology laboratory settings.

Multispectral plasmon induced transparency in coupled meta-atoms.

We introduce an approach enabling construction of a scalable metamaterial media supporting multispectral plasmon induced transparency. The composite multilayered media consist of coupled meta-atoms with radiant and subradiant hybridized plasmonic modes interacting through the structural asymmetry. A perturbative model incorporating hybridization and mode coupling is introduced to explain the observed novel spectral features. The proposed scheme is demonstrated experimentally by developing a lift-off-free fabrication scheme that can automatically register multiple metamaterial layers in the transverse plane. This metamaterial which can simultaneously enhance nonlinear processes at multiple frequency domains could open up new possibilities in optical information processing.

High-Throughput Nanofabrication of Infrared Plasmonic Nanoantenna Arrays for Vibrational Nanospectroscopy

The introduction of high-throughput and high-resolution nanofabrication techniques operating at low cost and low complexity is essential for the advancement of nanoplasmonic and nanophotonic fields. In this paper, we demonstrate a novel fabrication approach based on nanostencil lithography for high-throughput fabrication of engineered infrared plasmonic nanorod antenna arrays. The technique relying on deposition of materials through a shadow mask enables plasmonic substrates supporting spectrally sharp collective resonances. We show that reflectance spectra of these antenna arrays are comparable to that of arrays fabricated by electron beam lithography. We also show that nanostencils can be reused multiple times to fabricate a series of infrared nanoantenna arrays with identical optical responses. Finally, we demonstrate fabrication of plasmonic nanostructures in a variety of shapes with a single metal deposition step on different substrates, including nonconducting ones. Our approach, by enabling the reusability of the stencil and offering flexibility on the substrate choice and nanopattern design, could facilitate the transition of plasmonic technologies to the real-world applications.

Integrated nanoplasmonic-nanofluidic biosensors with targeted delivery of analytes

Performances of the biosensors are often limited by the depletion zones created around the sensing area which impede the effective analyte transport. To overcome this limitation, we propose and demonstrate a nanoplasmonic-nanofluidic sensor enabling targeted delivery of analytes to the sensor surface with dramatic improvements in mass transport efficiency. Our sensing platform is based on extraordinary light transmission effect in suspended plasmonic nanoholes. This scheme allows three-dimensional control of the fluidic flow by connecting separate layers of microfluidic channels through plasmonic/nanofluidic holes. To implement the proposed sensor platform, we also introduce a lift-off free nanofabrication method.

Flexible Plasmonics on Unconventional and Nonplanar Substrates

Flexible plasmonics and metamaterials on polymeric and nonplanar substrates are demonstrated using nanostencil lithography. High-resolution fabrication with 10 nm accuracy is achieved at high throughput and low cost in a single fabrication step. Optical tuning is shown with mechanical stretching of the polymer substrate. Patterning of nanostructures on curved surfaces, including optical fibers, is demonstrated.

Directional Double Fano Resonances in Plasmonic Hetero-Oligomers

We experimentally demonstrate for the first time a very compact plasmonic hetero-oligomer structure where the multiple radiant and subradiant modes can be tailored independently. Unlike previous approaches based on collective excitations in complex plasmonic systems, we show precise engineering of resonances leading to simultaneous spectral overlap of multiple plasmonic modes with opposite radiative character. This asymmetric behavior combined with inherent spatial features of the structure leads to directional double Fano resonances as shown with numerical analysis. A model based on temporal coupled mode theory is also provided to describe the double Fano behavior.

Sub-wavelength nanofluidics in photonic crystal sensors

We introduce a novel sensor scheme combining nano-photonics and nano-fluidics on a single platform through the use of free-standing photonic crystals. By harnessing nano-scale openings, we theoretically and experimentally demonstrate that both fluidics and light can be manipulated at sub-wavelength scales. Compared to the conventional fluidic channels, we actively steer the convective flow through the nanohole openings for effective delivery of the analytes to the sensor surface. We apply our method to detect refractive index changes in aqueous solutions. Bulk measurements indicate that active delivery of the convective flow results in better sensitivities. The sensitivity of the sensor reaches 510 nm/RIU for resonance located around 850 nm with a line-width of approximately 10 nm in solution. Experimental results are matched very well with numerical simulations. We also show that cross-polarization measurements can be employed to further improve the detection limit by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio.