TY - JOUR A1 - Esmann, M. A1 - Chimeh, A. A1 - Korte, A. A1 - Zhong, J. A1 - Stephan, S. A1 - Witt, Julia A1 - Wittstock, G. A1 - Talebi, N. A1 - Lienau, C. T1 - Plasmonic nanofocusing spectral interferometry N2 - We describe and demonstrate a novel experimental approach to measure broadband, amplitude- and phase-resolved scattering spectra of single nanoparticles with 10-nm spatial resolution. Nanofocusing of Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) propagating along the shaft of a conical gold taper is used to create a spatially isolated, spectrally broad nanoscale light source at ist very apex. The interference between these incident SPPs and SPPs that are backpropagating from the apex leads to the formation of an inherently phase-stable interferogram, which we detect in the far field by partially scattering SPPs off a small protrusion on the taper shaft. We show that these interferograms allow the reconstruction of both the amplitude and phase of the local optical near fields around individual nanoparticles optically coupled to the taper apex. We extract local light scattering spectra of particles and quantify line broadenings and spectral shifts induced by tip-sample coupling. Our experimental findings are supported by corresponding finite-difference time-domain and coupled dipole simulations and Show that, in the limit of weak tip-sample coupling, the measurements directly probe the projected local density of optical states of the plasmonic system. The combination of a highly stable inline interferometer with the inherent optical background suppression through nanofocusing makes it a promising tool for the locally resolved study of the spectral and temporal optical response of coupled hybrid nanosystems. KW - Plasmonic nanofocusing KW - Near-field spectroscopy PY - 2020 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-504985 DO - https://doi.org/10.1515/nanoph-2019-0397 VL - 9 IS - 2 SP - 491 EP - 508 PB - De Gruyter AN - OPUS4-50498 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Essmann, M. A1 - Becker, S. F. A1 - Witt, Julia A1 - Zhan, J. A1 - Chimeh, A. A1 - Korte, A. A1 - Zhong, J. A1 - Vogelgesang, R. A1 - Wittstock, G. A1 - Lienau, C. T1 - Vectorial near-field coupling N2 - The coherent exchange of optical near fields between two neighbouring dipoles plays an essential role in the optical properties, quantum dynamics and thus the function of many naturally occurring and artificial nanosystems. These interactions are challenging to quantify experimentally. They extend over only a few nanometres and depend sensitively on the detuning, dephasing and relative orientation (that is, the vectorial properties) of the coupled dipoles. Here, we introduce plasmonic nanofocusing spectroscopy to record coherent light scattering spectra with 5 nm spatial resolution from the apex of a conical gold nanotaper. The apex is excited solely by evanescent fields and coupled to plasmon resonances in a single gold nanorod. We resolve resonance energy shifts and line broadenings as a function of dipole distance and relative orientation. We demonstrate how These phenomena arise from mode couplings between different vectorial components of the interacting optical near fields, specifically from the coupling of the nanorod to both transverse and longitudinal polarizabilities of the taper apex. KW - Plasmon resonance KW - Coherent exchange KW - Optical near field KW - Plasmonic nanofocusing spectroscopy PY - 2019 DO - https://doi.org/10.1038/s41565-019-0441-y SN - 1748-3387 VL - 14 IS - 7 SP - 698 EP - 704 PB - Nature AN - OPUS4-48028 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Zhou, X. A1 - Mathews, P. A1 - Berkels, B. A1 - Delis, W. A1 - Saood, S. A1 - Alhassan, A. A1 - Keuter, P. A1 - Schneider, J. A1 - Korte-Kerzel, S. A1 - Sandlöbes, S. A1 - Raabe, D. A1 - Neugebauer, j. A1 - Dehm, G. A1 - Hickel, Tilmann A1 - Scheu, C. A1 - Zhang, S. T1 - Materials Design by Constructing Phase Diagrams for Defects N2 - Phase transformations and crystallographic defects are two essential tools todrive innovations in materials. Bulk materials design via tuning chemicalcompositions is systematized using phase diagrams. It is shown here that thesame thermodynamic concept can be applied to manipulate the chemistry atdefects. Grain boundaries in Mg–Ga system are chosen as a model system,because Ga segregates to the boundaries, while simultaneously improving thestrength and ductility of Mg alloys. To reveal the role of grain boundaries,correlated atomic-scale characterization and simulation to scope and buildphase diagrams for defects are presented. The discovery is enabled bytriggering phase transformations of individual grain boundaries through localalloying, and sequentially imaging the structural and chemical changes usingatomic-resolution scanning transmission electron microscopy. Ab initiosimulations determined the thermodynamic stability of grain boundaryphases, and found out that increasing Ga content enhances grain boundarycohesion, relating to improved ductility. The methodology to trigger, trace,and simulate defect transformation at atomic resolution enables a systematicdevelopment of defect phase diagrams, providing a valuable tool to utilizechemical complexity and phase transformations at defects. KW - Automatic pattern recognition KW - Defect phase diagram KW - Density functional theory KW - Grain boundary complexion KW - Transmission electron microscopy PY - 2024 UR - https://nbn-resolving.org/urn:nbn:de:kobv:b43-618063 DO - https://doi.org/10.1002/adma.202402191 SN - 1521-4095 SP - 1 EP - 9 PB - Wiley AN - OPUS4-61806 LA - eng AD - Bundesanstalt fuer Materialforschung und -pruefung (BAM), Berlin, Germany ER -