Multifunctional Metal-Oxide Nanocomposite Thin Film with Plasmonic Au Nanopillars Embedded in Magnetic LaSrMnO Matrix.

Searching for multifunctional materials with tunable magnetic and optical properties has been a critical task toward the implementation of future integrated optical devices. Vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) thin films provide a unique platform for multifunctional material designs. Here, a new metal-oxide VAN has been designed with plasmonic Au nanopillars embedded in a ferromagnetic LaSrMnO (LSMO) matrix. Such Au-LSMO nanocomposite presents intriguing plasmon resonance in the visible range and magnetic anisotropy property, which are functionalized by the Au and LSMO phase, respectively. Furthermore, the vertically aligned nanostructure of metal and dielectric oxide results in the hyperbolic property for near-field electromagnetic wave manipulation. Such optical and magnetic response could be further tailored by tuning the composition of Au and LSMO phases.