Fano correlation effect of optical response due to plasmon–exciton–plasmon interaction in an artificial hybrid molecule system

We theoretically study the coupling of a semiconductor quantum dot (QD) to two metal nanoparticles (MNPs) based on cavity quantum electrodynamics and canonical transformation. It is shown that a Fano correlation effect shown in the energy absorption spectrum of this hybrid molecule appears, which stems from two correlated Fano interference processes because the two MNPs share a common segment of optical pathway involving QD as a result of the plasmon–exciton–plasmon interaction. The results also demonstrate that it is feasible to change the energy absorption of one MNP by adjusting the position of the other MNP, which may be potentially applied in plasmonic light trapping of MNPs in photovoltaic devices. Our work will open an avenue to deal with the coupling of QDs to a few MNPs in the quantum regime.

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