Researchers at the Centre for Physical Sciences and Technology (FTMC) PhD student Kernius Vilkevičius, Prof. Algirdas Selskis and Dr. Evaldas Stankevičius, in collaboration with Dr. George D. Tsibidis and Dr. Emmanuel Stratakis from FORTH (Greece), have published a scientific paper entitled "Formation of highly tunable periodic plasmonic structures on gold films using direct laser writing". The paper is published in the prestigious journal "Advanced Optical Materials".

The published study shows that the shape of the formations formed on thin gold films can be controlled by varying the laser pulse energy, the thickness of the gold film and the period of the formations. Controlling the morphology of the plasmonic formations offers new possibilities to control the resonance of the formed lattice plasmons and thus opens new opportunities in the field of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) for the fabrication of substrates or ultra-sensitive sensors.

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About the relevance of the study

According to the authors, this work reveals that laser can be used to form arrays of different shapes in thin gold coatings very easily and quickly.

PhD student Kernius Vilkevičius	Dr. Evaldas Stankevičius

"Simply by varying the energy of the laser pulse, the period of the arrays, or the thickness of the metallic coating, different shapes of formations can be formed. Such periodic structures have great potential for applications in a wide range of fields such as diagnostics, monitoring, safety, plasmon lasers or restoration. In our research project, an array of nanoneedles will be used as a highly sensitive substrate for Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS), capable of identifying very low concentrations of various molecules. The development of such substrates is of particular relevance in advanced medicine for early diagnosis or treatment. These arrays can also be used for precise detection of liquids or gases. During the PhD studies of K. Vilkevičius, we plan to further develop this technology and test it for practical applications," say the researchers.

PhD student Kernius Vilkevičius in the laboratory of the Department of Laser Technologies

The authors Kernius Vilkevičius and Dr. Evaldas Stankevičius would like to thank the Lithuanian Research Council for funding under contract No S-MIP-23-32. The research was also supported by the EU “Horizon 2020” Nanoscience Foundries and Fine Analysis (NEP) project.

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