CAREER: Direct Imaging of the Flow of Light in Plasmonic Nanocircuits

在当前的信息时代，对可靠的、高速的、高数据速率的信息传输的不断增长的需求是不可否认的。一类新的光子器件，称为等离子体纳米电路，可以提供在纳米级传播和操纵信息的机会，补充在传统光子和电子器件中获得的功能。 在这样的电路中，光在低于衍射极限的1维和2维金属纳米结构中被引导和操纵。为了成功实现这些纳米电路，我们的团队将建立一个可以在电路中的任何位置研究光的流动的装置。该技术的应用并不限于等离子体纳米电路，还可以应用于各种传统的光子器件。因此，这项技术的发展将为未来光子器件结构的设计师和工艺工程师提供必要的指导。该技术还提供了新的方法来执行高灵敏度，非破坏性的材料表征和光谱与亚波长的空间分辨率的金属薄膜。这将大大扩展传统光学显微镜的能力。在与这一研究组成部分的协同作用下，这一建议将使一个实质性的教育和推广计划成为可能。教育和研究将通过（1）为我的学生提供（本科生、硕士生和研究生）在斯坦福大学和工业界一个迅速发展的新研究领域提供令人兴奋和宝贵的研究机会，（2）开始一个新的中学外展计划，帮助年轻学生开始科学和技术职业生涯，（3）努力吸引代表性不足的少数民族学生（特别是非洲裔美国人、美洲印第安人、西班牙裔美国人以及其他为斯坦福大学工程学院增加多样性的人）通过斯坦福大学的工程多样性项目在我的研究小组工作，（4）将新的研究成果反馈到我目前正在开发的两门课程中。

In the current information age, the ever increasing need for reliable, high speed, high data-rate information transport is undeniable. A new class of photonic devices, known as plasmonic nanocircuits, may provide an opportunity to propagate and manipulate information at the nanoscale, complementing functionality that is obtained in conventional photonic and electronic devices. In such circuits light is guided by and manipulated in 1-and 2-dimensional metallic nanostructures below the diffraction limit. For the successful realization of these nanocircuits, our group will to build a setup with which the flow of light can be studied at any location in the circuit. The application of this technique is not limited to plasmonic nanocircuits but can be applied to a variety of conventional photonic devices. The development of this technique will therefore give essential guidance to the designers and process engineers who will make the photonic device structures of the future. The technique also provides new ways to perform highly sensitive, non-destructive materials characterization and spectroscopy with subwavelength spatial resolution on metal films. This would significantly expand the capability of conventional optical microscopy.In synergy with this research component, this proposal will enable a substantial educational and outreach program. Education and research will be integrated by (1) providing my students (undergraduate, masters, and graduate) with exciting and valuable research opportunities at Stanford and in Industry in a rapidly developing new research field, (2) starting a new secondary-school outreach program to help young students start a career in science and technology, (3) trying to attract underrepresented minority students (particularly African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans as well as others who add diversity to Stanford's School of Engineering) to work in my research group through the Engineering Diversity Program at Stanford, (4) feed new research results back into two courses that I am currently developing.