NIRT: Plasmonic Nanophotonics and Optoelectronics

该提案是响应纳米科学与工程倡议，NSF 01-157，类别NIRT。该项目旨在开发新型金属-介电纳米结构材料及其在光子学、光谱学和光电子学中的应用。金属纳米结构能够支持各种等离子体模式，这可以导致高局部场，从而显著增强光学响应。这种等离子体纳米结构就像纳米天线一样在小的纳米尺度区域中积累和建立电磁能量。这种能量集中所导致的光学截面的显著增强为金属纳米结构的许多应用开辟了新的途径。本项目将研究一些新现象及其在光子学和光电子学中的应用。这些技术包括基于金属纳米线的左手材料中的负折射、使用金属纳米结构的光子带隙材料、等离子体增强型非线性光电探测器、无序诱导的等离子体局域化和用于探测分子的分形传感器、光选通光发射器、光子纳米电路和纳米芯片。这项跨学科研究汇集了等离子体纳米材料物理学（Shalaev教授），飞秒脉冲成形光谱学和超快光子学（Weiner教授）以及等离子体（Wei教授）和光电（Melloch教授）纳米材料制造的专家。一个成功的等离子体纳米材料计划，由协同活动与伯克纳米技术中心和中心传感科学和技术在普渡大学的支持，将加速多学科纳米光子学计划的发展。拟议的研究将整合和注入尖端研究的新兴领域的光子学和纳米技术与一流的教育和培训。

This proposal was received in response to Nanoscale Science and Engineering initiative, NSF 01-157, category NIRT. This project is aimed at developing new classes of metal-dielectric nanostructured materials and their applications in photonics, spectroscopy and optoelectronics. Metal nanostructures are capable of supporting various plasmon modes, which can result in high local fields and thus in dramatic enhancement of optical responses. Such plasmonic nanostructures act like nanoantennas accumulating and building up the electromagnetic energy in small nanometer scale areas. The dramatic enhancement of optical cross-sections resulting from such energy concentration opens new avenues for numerous applications of metal nanostructures. A number of new phenomena and their applications in photonics and optoelectronics will be studied in this project. Those include negative refraction in left-handed materials based on metal nanowires, photonic band-gap materials using metal nanostructures, plasmon-enhanced nonlinear photodetectors, disorder-induced localization of plasmons and fractal sensors for detecting molecules, light-gated optical transmitters, photonic nano-circuits and nano-chips. This interdisciplinary research brings together experts in the physics of plasmonic nanomaterials (Prof. Shalaev), femtosecond pulse-shaping spectroscopy and ultafast photonics (Prof. Weiner), and fabrication of plasmonic (Prof. Wei) and optoelectronic (Prof. Melloch) nanomaterials. A successful program in plasmonic nanomaterials, supported by synergistic activities with the Birck Nanotechnology Center and Center for Sensing Science and Technology at Purdue, will accelerate the development of a multidisciplinary Nano-photonics Program. The proposed research will integrate and infuse cutting-edge research in the emerging areas of photonics and nanotechnology with top-flight education and training.