Plasmon-Polaron Coupling in Conjugated Polymer on Infrared Nanoantennas.

We propose and demonstrate a novel type of coupling between polarons in a conjugated polymer and localized surface plasmons in infrared (IR) nanoantennas. The near-field interaction between plasmons and polarons is revealed by polarized photoinduced absorption measurements, probing mid-IR polaron transitions, and infrared-active vibrational modes of the polymer, which directly gauge the density of photogenerated charge carriers. This work proves the possibility of tuning the polaronic properties of organic semiconductors with plasmonic nanostructures.