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Data from: Acoustic wave modulation of gap plasmon cavities

Selvin, Skyler1; Esfandyarpour, Majid1; Ji, Anqi1; Lee, Yan Joe1; Yule, Colin1; Song, Jung-Hwan21; Taghinejad, Mohammad1; Brongersma, Mark1

Research facility: Stanford University
Published Jul 31, 2025 on Dryad. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.63xsj3vcq

Data files

Jul 31, 2025 version files 6.30 GB

Abstract

The important role of metallic nanostructures in nanophotonics will expand if ways to electrically manipulate their optical resonances at high speed can be identified. We capitalized on electrically driven surface acoustic waves and the extreme light concentration afforded by gap plasmons to achieve this goal. We placed gold nanoparticles in a particle-on-mirror configuration with a few-nanometer-thick, compressible polymer spacer. Surface acoustic waves were then used to tune light scattering at speeds approaching the gigahertz regime. We observed evidence that the surface acoustic waves produced mechanical deformations in the polymer and that ensuing nonlinear mechanical dynamics led to unexpectedly large levels of strain and spectral tuning. Our approach provides a design strategy for electrically driven dynamic metasurfaces and fundamental explorations of high-frequency, polymer dynamics in ultraconfi ned geometries.