Plasmonic gold islands enhanced photobioreactors

The field of plasmonics provides control of light at the nanometer scale, well below the wavelength of light in free space. Recently, it has been shown that suspensions of plasmonic nanoparticles can be exploited to improve light absorption by micro-algae and that propagating surface plasmons can be used to transfer light to biofilms of photosynthetic bacteria. Here we present our recent work with localized surface plasmons (LSP) excited on gold island films to provide an enhanced physical and optical environment for photosynthetic bacterial cultivation and opportunities for improved photobioreactor design.