Large Enhancement of Circular Dichroism Using an Embossed Chiral Metamaterial

Abstract: In the close vicinity of a chiral nanostructure, the circular dichroism of a biomolecule could be greatly enhanced, due to the interaction with the local superchiral fields. Modest enhancement of optical activity using a planar metamaterial, with some chiral properties, and achiral nanoparticles has been previously reported. A more substantial chirality enhancement can be achieved in the local filed of a chiral nanostructure with a three-dimensional arrangement. Using an embossed chiral nanostructure designed for chiroptical sensing, we measure the circular dichroism spectra of two biomolecules, Chlorophylls A and B, at the molecular level, using a simple polarization resolved reflection measurement. This experiment is the first realization of the on-resonance surface-enhanced circular dichroism, achieved by matching the chiral resonances of a strongly chiral metamaterial with that of a chiral molecule, resulting in an unprecedentedly large differential CD spectrum from a monolayer of a chiral material.