Light-driven plasmonic switches based on Au nanodisk arrays and photoresponsive liquid crystals

An optically controlled plasmonic switch that uses Au nanodisk arrays embedded in azobenzene-doped, photoresponsive liquid crystals (LCs) is reported. The switch utilizes the photo-induced phase transition of 3 azobenzene-doped LCs to alter the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au nanodisks. The experimental modulation of the LSPR matches well with theoretical calculations. The influence of the angle of the incident light, power of the pump light, and wavelength of the probe light are also investigated.