Plasmon-enhanced low-intensity laser switching of gold::vanadium dioxide nanocomposites

Transient absorption of gold nanoparticle (NP) arrays covered by a 60 nm thick film of VO 2 was measured using a mechanically shuttered 785 nm pump laser and a 1550 nm cw probe. Even though the Au NPs constitute only 4% by volume of the nanocomposite, they increase the effective absorption coefficient by a factor of 1.5 and reduce the threshold laser power required to induce the semiconductor-to-metal transition (SMT) by as much as 37%. It is argued that the NPs function as thermal initiators for the SMT and as "nanoradiators" to increase the scattering and absorption of light into interband transitions of the VO 2 .