Optical Properties of Small Metal and Dielectric Structures

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In this project in the Physical Chemistry program of the Chemistry Division and the Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics program of the Physics Division, Prof. Keith Bonin of the Physics Department of Wake Forest University will measure the scalar and tensor polarizabilities of neutral and ionic lithium clusters, neutral and ionic sodium clusters, and fullerene-type carbon structures. The measurements will be made at two frequencies, that of the Nd:YAG laser fundamental at 1059 nm, corresponding to an energy of 1.17 eV, and that of the Hydrogen, Stokes Raman shifted line at 1907 nm, corresponding to an energy of 0.65 eV. The experimental method will be based on the newly developed light force technique. The electrical polarizability is an important property of a molecular system. The so-called dynamical, i.e., frequency dependent, polarizabilities serve as benchmarks for electronic structure calculations of electric response properties. The measurements will be made on free, single cluster units in the gas phase and the results correlated to those for the condensed-phase. The data thus obtained will contribute to a better understanding of the transition from the gas to the condensed phase, and the electrical and electro-optical properties of materials.