Anomalous Shift Behaviors in the Photoluminescence of Dolmen-Like Plasmonic Nanostructures

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) on metallic nanostructures is able to enhance photoluminescence (PL) emission significantly. However, the mechanism for anomalous blue-shifted peak of PL emission from metallic nanostructures, relative to the corresponding scattering spectra, is still unclear so far. In this paper, we presented the detailed investigations on both the Lorentz-like PL profile with blue shifted peak and Fano-like one with almost unshifted dip, as observed on dolmen-like metallic nanostructures. Such anomalous PL emission profile is the product of the density of plasmon states (DoPS) with Lorentz-/Fano-like profile and the population distribution of the relaxed collective free electrons during relaxation. To be more specific, the fast relaxation process of these collective free electrons contributes to the PL shifting characteristics of both Lorentz-like and Fano-like emission profiles. We believed the that our results provide a general solid foundation and guidance for analyzing and manipulating the physical processes of the PL emission from various plasmonic nanostructures.