Plasmonic crystals with highly ordered lattice geometries using continuous metal films on diatom bio-silica as both scaffolds and sources of tuneability

Abstract: Diatoms are microscopic algae found in all of Earths water courses. They produce frustules, porous silica exoskeletons, grown by precipitation of silicic acid from water. Frustule components, known as girdles, from some diatom species also feature highly periodic pore arrays with properties on the same scale and quality of ordering as manufactured photonic crystals. Here, the girdles of two diatom species with various lattice constants are used as bio-silica scaffolds for plasmonic crystals, combined with metals chosen for spectral agreement between permittivity and photonic crystal properties. The use of frustules as scaffolds for plasmonic application has been tested earlier, as nano-porous features can enhance scattering and local hotspots, useful for sensing application or SERS. However, both the use of girdles and of continuous metal films are new approaches offering previously unseen plasmonic effects. Angularly resolved dispersions from reflection Fourier spectroscopy are provided for Coscinodiscus granii girdles, forming well-ordered square lattices, and Coscinodiscus wailesii, forming ordered hexagonal lattices, covered with a 40 nm film of silver or with 40 nm of gold, respectively. These were confirmed with optical modelling of the 3D systems, including both metal surface layers and internal frustule structures, allowing for the calculation of dispersions and electric fields. Measurements are further compared with structures produced via Focused Ion Beam microscopy, demonstrating the advantages of girdles as photonic crystal scaffolds and as an alternative to conventional plasmonic crystal fabrication. The results demonstrate that high-quality plasmonic crystal scaffolds from diatoms are available in nature, and their natural diversity can be applied in a controlled way to obtain plasmonic crystals with a wide range of behaviours and spectral responses.