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

在当今的信息时代，对可靠、高速、高数据速率的信息传输的需求日益增长是不可否认的。一类新的光子器件，被称为等离子体纳米电路，可能提供在纳米尺度上传播和操纵信息的机会，补充传统光子和电子器件中获得的功能。在这种电路中，光由低于衍射极限的一维和二维金属纳米结构引导和操纵。为了成功实现这些纳米电路，我们的团队将建立一个装置，可以在电路的任何位置研究光的流动。该技术的应用不仅限于等离子体纳米电路，而且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制造光子器件结构的设计师和工艺工程师提供必要的指导。该技术还提供了在金属薄膜上进行高灵敏度、非破坏性材料表征和亚波长空间分辨率光谱分析的新方法。这将大大扩展传统光学显微镜的能力。在这个研究组成部分的协同作用下，该提案将使一个实质性的教育和推广计划成为可能。教育和研究将通过以下方式进行整合：(1)为我的学生（本科生、硕士和研究生）提供在斯坦福大学和在一个迅速发展的新研究领域进行令人兴奋和有价值的研究的机会；(2)开始一个新的中学推广计划，帮助年轻学生开始在科学和技术领域的职业生涯；(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、美国人）。西班牙裔美国人，以及其他为斯坦福工程学院增添多样性的人，通过斯坦福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给我目前正在开发的两门课程。

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.