Observations on the strong photochromic effect of crystalline TiO 2 quantum dots (mean size ≈ 4 nm) are presented. The synthesized quantum dots consist of irregularly shaped anatase TiO 2 nanoparticles (NPs) and are dispersed in butanol (8% by mass). Obtained NPs exhibit a dramatic photoresponse to UV light, enabling effective transmittance modulation in a broad wavelength range extending from the visible to near-infrared region, and even the thermal black body radiation regime beyond 10 μm. The exceptional photoresponse is attributed to hole-scavenging by butanol, TiO 2 self-reduction, injection of electrons to the conduction band, and consequent localized surface plasmon resonances in NPs. The observed optical effect is reversible, and the initial high transmittance state can be restored simply by exposing the NPs to air. The applied NP synthesis route is economic and can be easily scaled for applications such as smart window technologies.

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A numerical study of the enhancement of the spontaneous parametric down-conversion in plasmonic and dielectric structures is considered. The modeling is done using a nonlinear transfer-matrix method which is extended to include vacuum fluctuations and realistic waves (e.g. Gaussian beam). The results indicate that in the case of short-range surface plasmon polaritons, the main limiting factor of the enhancement is the short length of the coherent buildup. In the case of long-range surface plasmon polaritons or dielectric guided waves, the very narrow resonances are the main limiting factor instead.