Plasmon-induced nonlinear response on gold nanoclusters

The plasmon-induced nonlinear response has attracted great attention in micro-nano optics and optoelectronics applications, yet the underlying microscopic mechanism remains elusive. In this study, the nonlinear response of gold nanoclusters when exposed to a femtosecond laser pulse was investigated using time-dependent density functional theory. It was observed that the third-order tunneling current was augmented in plasmonic dimers, owing to a greater number of electrons in the dimer being excited from occupied to unoccupied states. These findings provide profound theoretical insights and enable the realization of accurate regulation and control of nonlinear effects induced by plasmons at the atomic level.