| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/J015393/1 |
| Title: |
Design of plasmonic nanostructures for an enhanced control over their ultrafast nonlinear optical response. |
| Principal Investigator: |
Zayats, Professor A |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
Physics |
| Organisation: |
Kings College London |
| Scheme: |
Standard Research |
| Starts: |
01 January 2013 |
Ends: |
31 December 2015 |
Value (£): |
375,131
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Optical Devices & Subsystems |
Optical Phenomena |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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18 Apr 2012
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EPSRC Physical Sciences Materials - April
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
After a decade of existence, and driven by a remarkable expansion in research and development, plasmonics -the technology that exploit the unique optical properties of metallic nanostructures to enable routing and actively manipulating light at the nanoscale- has entered a defining period in which researchers will seek to answer a critical question: can plasmonics provide a viable technological platform which includes both passive and active nanodevices?
The design of these devices is driven by a two-fold objective: 1) to manipulate electromagnetic energy at the nanoscale, including harvesting, guiding and transferring energy, with high lateral confinement down to a few tens of nanometers, and 2) to generate ultrafast (a few femtoseconds) and strong non-linear effects with low operating powers to produce basic active functions such as transistor or lasing actions. Utilizing the resonant properties -field enhancement and spectral sensitivity- of Surface Plasmons Polaritons (SPPs) is generally thought to represent a practical avenue to achieving this objective.
However, our ability to control and manipulate light at this scale dynamically -i.e. to produce active functionalities- and in real-time through low-energy external control signals is a missing link in our aim to develop a fully integrated sub-wavelength optical platform. To date, active plasmonic systems, including thermo- and electro-optic media, quantum dots, and photochromic molecules, are achieving sensitive progress in switching and modulation applications. However, high switching times (>nanosecond) or the need for relatively strong control energy (~microJ/cm^2) to observe sensible signal modulation (35% to 80%), limit the practical use of such structures as signal processing or other active opto-electronic nanodevices.
In this context, this research aims to assess the potential for defects to enhance the non-linear optical properties of hybrid plasmonic crystals. The objective is to integrate defects, made of plasmonic cavities, in plasmonic crystals to create a focal point for electromagnetic energy stored in surface plasmon waves at the crystal's interfaces. The role of the defect is then to transfer this energy to a neighbouring non-linear material in order to change its optical properties at the femtosecond timescale, thus creating an active functionality. This research, largely based on ultrafast time-resolved near-field optical microscopy, is also expected to enhance our understanding of ultrafast energy transfers at the nanoscale- a critical expertise in designing nanodevices.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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