Photoluminescence and nonlinear optical phenomena in plasmonic random media-A review of recent works

Photoluminescence properties and nonlinear optical response of metal-dielectric nanocomposites (MDNCs)-germanate glasses, bio-cellulose membranes and colloids containing either silver (Ag) or gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs)-are reviewed. The phenomena discussed are: i. the photoluminescence enhancement observed from rare-earth doped PbO-GeO2 glass containing Ag NPs; ii. optical amplification at 1530 nm in RIB waveguides made with PbO-GeO2 thin films covered with Au NPs; iii. Random Laser emission from a bio-cellulose membrane infiltrated with Rhodamine 6G and containing Ag NPs; iv. the nonlinearity management of high-order processes in colloids containing Ag NPs suspended in acetone. In all discussed cases the influence of the metallic NPs is clearly demonstrated and a procedure to control the nonlinear propagation of light beams in heterogeneous media is presented.