Heating of Metal Nanoparticles on Absorbing Substrates

L. Bergamini [1], O. Muskens [2], N. Zabala [1], J. Aizpurua [3]
[1] UPV/EHU, Bilbao, Spain; Materials Physics Center and CSIC-UPV/EHU, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain; Donostia International Physics Center, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
[2] University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
[3] Materials Physics Center and CSIC-UPV/EHU, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain; Donostia International Physics Center, Donostia-San Sebastian, Spain
Published in 2015

It is well-known that metal nanoparticles (NPs) excited at the plasmon frequency not only exhibit peculiar optical properties (e.g., a peak in the extinction spectrum, an enhanced electromagnetic near-filed) but also heat up [1]. This phenomenon is highly investigated for medical applications, but it can be exploited also for the realization of optical devices.

In our study we use COMSOL Multiphysics software as a tool to simulate the temperature profile evolution in time of metal nanoparticles placed on top of an absorbing substrate when illuminated with picoseconds light. The simulation involves two physical steps and, thus, two physical interfaces.