We present a demonstration of the surface plasmon phenomenon as it occurs in thin metal island films. The metal films are deposited on glass microscope slides. The effect of the surface plasmon resonance may be observed visually on the slide without further apparatus. Heating the film changes the shape of the islands and therefore the resonant frequency of the surface plasmon and changes the color of the film. Placing the film in a dielectric medium changes the resonance condition for the surface plasmon again and changes the color again. We show this by coating the slides with commercially available liquids with different indices of refraction. We present a theoretical model that assumes the islands are oblate spheroids. There are enough details given so that the equations can be programed and the theoretical optical absorbance can be reproduced. We also present a modification to the theory so that the shift in resonant frequency can be calculated when the spheroids are immersed in the index fluids. We describe our apparatus for making thin films and our optical spectrometer system. We then present optical absorbance measurements of thin films of both Ag and Au in air and in two liquids with different indices of refraction.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
October 2000
PAPERS|
October 01 2000
Demonstration of surface plasmons in metal island films and the effect of the surrounding medium—An undergraduate experiment
P. Orfanides;
P. Orfanides
Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
Search for other works by this author on:
T. F. Buckner;
T. F. Buckner
Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
Search for other works by this author on:
M. C. Buncick;
M. C. Buncick
Department of Physics, The University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152
Search for other works by this author on:
F. Meriaudeau;
F. Meriaudeau
LE21, 12 rue de la fonderie, 71200 Le Creusot, France
Search for other works by this author on:
T. L. Ferrell
T. L. Ferrell
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee 37831
Search for other works by this author on:
Am. J. Phys. 68, 936–942 (2000)
Article history
Received:
September 10 1999
Accepted:
November 16 1999
Citation
P. Orfanides, T. F. Buckner, M. C. Buncick, F. Meriaudeau, T. L. Ferrell; Demonstration of surface plasmons in metal island films and the effect of the surrounding medium—An undergraduate experiment. Am. J. Phys. 1 October 2000; 68 (10): 936–942. https://doi.org/10.1119/1.1285859
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
Ergodic Lagrangian dynamics in a superhero universe
I. L. Tregillis, George R. R. Martin
A simple Minkowskian time-travel spacetime
John D. Norton
All objects and some questions
Charles H. Lineweaver, Vihan M. Patel
Kepler's Moon puzzle—A historical context for pinhole imaging
Thomas Quick, Johannes Grebe-Ellis
The surprising subtlety of electrostatic field lines
Kevin Zhou, Tomáš Brauner
An undergraduate lab experiment on matched filtering as used in gravitational wave detection
Michael Daam, Antje Bergmann, et al.
Related Content
The Build-it, Leave-it, Teach-it Program: A Model for Recruiting and Retaining Pre-service Physics Teachers
Phys. Teach. (September 2019)
Teaching quantum formalism and postulates to first-year undergraduates
Am. J. Phys. (January 2025)
Undergraduate physics laboratory: Electrophoresis in chromatography paper
Am. J. Phys. (December 2015)
The use of dc glow discharges as undergraduate educational tools
Am. J. Phys. (September 2013)
Modeling the effect of air-intake aperture size in the ping-pong ball cannon
Am. J. Phys. (February 2019)