Low energy-density recording with a high-repetition-rate laser beam in gold-nanorod-embedded discs.

In this paper, we report on the low energy-density recording with a high-repetition-rate femtosecond pulsed beam in homogenous gold-nanorod-dispersed discs by using low numerical aperture (NA) micro-optics. By focusing a femtosecond pulsed beam at a repetition rate of 82 MHz using a low NA DVD optical head, the spatially-stretched energy density introduces a temperature rising of the polymer matrix. This temperature rising facilitates the surface melting of gold nanorods, which leads to over one-order-of-magnitude reduction in the energy-density threshold for recording, compared with that by focusing single pulses through a high NA objective. Applying this finding, we demonstrate the dual-layer recording in gold-nanorod-dispersed discs with an equivalent capacity of 69 GB. Our results demonstrate the potential of ultra-high density three-dimensional optical memory with a low-cost and DVD-compatible apparatus.

[1]  John E. Sader,et al.  Softening of the symmetric breathing mode in gold particles by laser-induced heating , 2003 .

[2]  Fumiyo Yoshino,et al.  Heat accumulation effects in femtosecond laser-written waveguides with variable repetition rate. , 2005, Optics express.

[3]  Min Gu,et al.  Five-dimensional optical recording mediated by surface plasmons in gold nanorods , 2009, Nature.

[4]  Daniel Day,et al.  Ultra‐Low Energy Threshold for Cancer Photothermal Therapy Using Transferrin‐Conjugated Gold Nanorods , 2008 .

[5]  K. Nakamae,et al.  Melt processing of poly(vinyl alcohol) through blending with sugar pendant polymer , 2002 .

[6]  H. Ditlbacher,et al.  Spectrally coded optical data storage by metal nanoparticles. , 2000, Optics letters.

[7]  Min Gu,et al.  Spectral encoding on Gold Nanorods Doped in a Silica Sol–Gel Matrix and Its Application to High‐Density Optical Data Storage , 2007 .

[8]  M. El-Sayed,et al.  Laser photothermal melting and fragmentation of gold nanorods: Energy and laser pulse-width dependence , 1999 .

[9]  Lihong V. Wang,et al.  Gold nanocages for cancer imaging and therapy. , 2010, Methods in molecular biology.

[10]  M. El-Sayed,et al.  Laser-Induced Shape Changes of Colloidal Gold Nanorods Using Femtosecond and Nanosecond Laser Pulses , 2000 .

[11]  W. Kingery.  Heat‐Conductivity Processes in Glass , 1961 .

[12]  M. El-Sayed.  Spectroscopic determination of the melting energy of a gold nanorod , 2001 .

[13]  Perry,et al.  Nanosecond-to-femtosecond laser-induced breakdown in dielectrics. , 1996, Physical review. B, Condensed matter.

[14]  Hristina Petrova,et al.  On the temperature stability of gold nanorods: comparison between thermal and ultrafast laser-induced heating. , 2006, Physical chemistry chemical physics : PCCP.

[15]  Longfa Pan,et al.  High performance three-axis actuator in super-multi optical pickup with low crosstalk force , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Consumer Electronics.

[16]  P. Jain,et al.  Calculated absorption and scattering properties of gold nanoparticles of different size, shape, and composition: applications in biological imaging and biomedicine. , 2006, The journal of physical chemistry. B.

[17]  Cheng-Dah Chen,et al.  The Shape Transition of Gold Nanorods , 1999 .

[18]  Carsten Sönnichsen,et al.  A molecular ruler based on plasmon coupling of single gold and silver nanoparticles , 2005, Nature Biotechnology.

[19]  B. Nikoobakht,et al.  種結晶を媒介とした成長法を用いた金ナノロッド(NR)の調製と成長メカニズム , 2003 .

[20]  M. El-Sayed,et al.  How Does a Gold Nanorod Melt , 2000 .

[21]  Min Gu,et al.  Effect of heat accumulation on the dynamic range of a gold nanorod doped polymer nanocomposite for optical laser writing and patterning. , 2007, Optics express.

[22]  Xiaohua Huang,et al.  Cancer cell imaging and photothermal therapy in the near-infrared region by using gold nanorods. , 2006, Journal of the American Chemical Society.

[23]  Mostafa A. El-Sayed,et al.  Preparation and Growth Mechanism of Gold Nanorods (NRs) Using Seed-Mediated Growth Method , 2003 .

[24]  T. Dekorsy,et al.  A surface phase transition of supported gold nanoparticles. , 2007, Nano letters.

[25]  Chung-Hao Tien,et al.  Three-dimensional orientation-unlimited polarization encryption by a single optically configured vectorial beam , 2012, Nature Communications.