Surface Plasmon Damping Quantified with an Electron Nanoprobe

Fabrication and synthesis of plasmonic structures is rapidly moving towards sub-nanometer accuracy in control over shape and inter-particle distance. This holds the promise for developing device components based on novel, non-classical electro-optical effects. Monochromated electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS) has in recent years demonstrated its value as a qualitative experimental technique in nano-optics and plasmonic due to its unprecedented spatial resolution. Here, we demonstrate that EELS can also be used quantitatively, to probe surface plasmon kinetics and damping in single nanostructures. Using this approach, we present from a large (>50) series of individual gold nanoparticles the plasmon Quality factors and the plasmon Dephasing times, as a function of energy/frequency. It is shown that the measured general trend applies to regular particle shapes (rods, spheres) as well as irregular shapes (dendritic, branched morphologies). The combination of direct sub-nanometer imaging with EELS-based plasmon damping analysis launches quantitative nanoplasmonics research into the sub-nanometer realm.