Photothermal probing of plasmonic hotspots with nanomechanical resonator

Plasmonic nanostructures (hotspots) are key components e.g. in plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy, plasmonic solar cells, or as nano heat sources. The characterization of single hotspots is still challenging due to a lack of experimental tools. We present the direct photothermal probing and mapping of single plasmonic nanoslits via the thermally induced detuning of nanomechanical string resonators. A maximum relative frequency detuning of 0.5 % was measured for a single plasmonic nanoslit for a perpendicularly polarized laser with a power of 1350 nW. Finally, we show the photothermal scan over a nanoslit array.