Excitation power dependence of lifetime of photoluminescence from gold film in the Kretschmann geometry

Abstract

We have investigated picosecond-laser-pulse-excited photoluminescence (PL) from an evaporated gold film in the Kretschmann geometry. The total intensity of PL was proportional to the square of continuous wave equivalent laser power for excitation, showing that PL is excited via two-photon optical processes. The lifetime of PL was directly determined as a function of excitation laser power by use of a streak camera. We found that the lifetime is inversely proportional to excitation laser power, indicating that the lifetime of d-band holes created by the two-photon optical processes is inversely proportional to their density. © 2010 IOP Publishing Ltd.