Date of Award

12-31-2013

Document Type

Campus Access Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science (MS)

Department

Physics, Applied

First Advisor

Greg Sun

Second Advisor

Walter Buchwald

Third Advisor

Stephen Arnason

Abstract

The way a fluorophore behaves in free space is very different from the way that it behaves in the presence of a metal nanosphere. This change is because the fluorophore, in its excited state, interacts with the free electrons in the metal. The charge density of the free electrons oscillate as surface plasmons, and when an electric field is applied, the surface plasmons couple to the field to produce surface plasmon polaritons. The resulting resonance modifies the optical properties of the fluorophore. The behaviors of nanoplasmonics systems derive from the interaction of light with conduction electrons, which means that understanding nanoplasmonics requires understanding the Drude Model and Maxwell's Equations. The Drude Model gives a basis for understanding free electron behavior, in order to investigate the dielectric function and electrodynamics in the context of a nanoplasmonic system. Thisstudy offers a mathematical model for the enhancement of the fluorescence in the presence of a silver nanosphere.

Comments

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