Tunable photonic nanostructures exhibiting plasmonic and leaky-mode resonances

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Intellectual Merit:The objective of this project is to conduct theoretical and experimental research on tunable nanostructured resonance elements. The project is motivated by recent theoretical results that demonstrate substantial spectral tunability with minimal mechanical movement. The proposed nano/micro-electromechanically tunable pixels rely on leaky-mode resonance effects in subwavelength photonic lattices that constitute periodic waveguides. It is of interest to explore the utility of this concept across the wavelength range from ~0.4 m to ~2 m by numerical simulations and fabrication of prototype elements. A comprehensive plan of research to address numerous interesting facets of this device class is proposed. The project is intellectually meritorious in that new, original directions in photonic device design based on nanostructured subwavelength elements will be pursued. The study of coexisting plasmonic and leaky-mode resonance effects is of fundamental scientific interest. We expect the project to establish a new class of tunable optical elements and to aid device design and fabrication. Broader Impact:If the research verifies the practicality of these concepts, this work can have a significant impact in promoting new device technology. Applications such as tunable filters, variable reflectors, modulators, and tunable pixels appear feasible. These devices may be useful as pixels in new, planar, ultra thin spatial light modulators for display applications as well as in other systems including tunable multispectral detectors, multispectral analysis systems, polarization discrimination and analysis systems, and tunable lasers. In addition, this project supports development of research capability and education in photonic nanostructures at the University of Connecticut providing analytical and experimental experience for graduate and undergraduate students. The results of this research will be disseminated in journals and conferences. Because there is strong global emphasis on the study of periodic layers and lattices, our publications and results, illustrating the interesting effects and applications realized in the leaky-mode regime and in the mixed plasmonic/leaky-mode regime, might stimulate additional research and development.