Photonic Crystal Nanocavities Containing Plasmonic Nanoparticles Assembled Using a Laser‐Printing Technique

An optical printing technique is used to accurately position a 150 nm diameter gold nanoparticle onto a submicrometer linear three‐hole defect of a photonic crystal nanocavity. It is shown (using both experiment and finite‐difference time domain modelling), that there is an electromagnetic interaction between the nanoparticle and the cavity mode, with the electromagnetic field within the cavity being dissipated by driving the nanoparticle plasmon resonance. The use of a printing technique to selectively position nanoparticles onto a surface‐accessible cavity potentially allows the hybridisation between electronic, excitonic, and optical states to be explored with high precision. Furthermore, through its scalable nature it also opens possibilities for the routine construction of new types of photonic devices and sensors.