Self-Assembly of Silica-Gold Core-Shell Microparticles by Electric Fields Toward Dynamically Tunable Metamaterials

Metamaterials, rationally engineered composite materials with exotic properties, have provided unprecedented opportunities to manipulate the propagation of electromagnetic waves and control light-matter interactions in a prescribed manner. At present, most metamaterials are in solid states, and their functions are fixed once fabricated. Applying external electric fields to assemble metallic and metallodielectric particles into distinct configurations is an approach to realize dynamically tunable or reconfigurable metamaterials. In this paper, we show that core-shell microparticles can be self-assembled into chain structures under an alternating current (AC) electric field at different oscillation frequencies. We have conducted optical characterizations of silica-gold core-shell particles by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, which show distinct optical responses at mid-infrared wavelengths before and after the chain formation. Full-wave simulations unveil that the spectral features arise from the coupling between the sophisticated plasmonic resonant modes of individual core-shell particles. The reconfigurable metamaterials based on the manipulation and assembly of metallic and metallodielectric particles have potential applications in optofluidic devices, liquid-borne microcircuits, and optical sensing.

Automated summary

This study demonstrates that core-shell microparticles can self-assemble into chain structures under an alternating current electric field at different frequencies, showing distinct optical responses before and after chain formation. By manipulating and assembling metallic and metallodielectric particles, reconfigurable metamaterials with potential applications in optofluidic devices, liquid-borne microcircuits, and optical sensing can be realized.