Plasmon 3D Electron Tomography and Local Electric-Field Enhancement of Engineered Plasmonic Nanoantennas

Plasmonic nanoantennas are pushing the limits of optical imaging resolution capabilities in near-field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM). Accordingly, these techniques are driving the basic understanding of photonic and optoelectronic nanoscale devices with applications in sensing, energy conversion, solid-state lighting, and information technology. Imaging the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) at the nanoscale is a key to understanding the optical responses of a given tip geometry in order to engineer better plasmonic nanoantennas for near-field experiments. In recent years the advancement of focused ion beam technology provides the ability to directly modify plasmonic structures with nanometer resolution. Also, scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) is an established technique allowing imaging of LSPR. Specifically, the combination of these two techniques provides spectrally sensitive two-dimensional (2D) image information to better visualize and understand LSPR on the nanometer scale. This can be combined with electron tomography to provide the three-dimensional LSPR distribution. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of Au nanopyramids using helium ion microscopy, and analyze the LSPR in 3D reconstructions produced by total variation (TV)-norm minimization of a set of 2D STEM-EELS maps. Additionally, a boundary element simulation method was used to verify the experimentally observed nanopyramid LSPR modes. Finally, we show that the point-spread-functions (PSF) of LSPR mode hot spots in nanopyramids differ to local electric-field enhancement under optical excitation making direct comparison to NSOM experimental resolution difficult. However, the STEM-EELS results show how LSPR modes are influenced by the tip characteristics, which can inform the development of new nanoantenna designs.