Tailoring Light-Matter Interaction in Plasmonic Nanostructures based on Epitaxial Metallic Films: From Classical to Quantum Regime

基于外延金属薄膜的等离激元纳米结构中的光与物质相互作用的定制：从经典到量子体系

• 批准号: 1306878
• 负责人: Xiaoqin Li
• 金额: $ 45.59万
• 依托单位: University of Texas at Austin
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2013
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2013-07-01 至 2019-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1306878&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Tailoring; Light; Matter; Interaction; Plasmonic

Technical Description: The field of plasmonics is a vibrant frontier in photonics which aims at manipulating light-matter interaction well below the diffraction limit by utilizing plasmonic resonances in metals or heavily doped semiconductors. One outstanding challenge relevant to practically all plasmonic applications is the high loss introduced by either absorption or scattering due to grain boundaries and surfaces roughness. Among the commonly used materials, silver (Ag) has the best characteristics and the lowest loss in a wide wavelength range. The objective of this project is to investigate atomically-smooth epitaxial Ag films, as well as nanostructures either fabricated from such films or placed in their close proximity, as a new platform for plasmonic applications. The specific aims include: (i) Characterization of optical constants and measurement of surface plasmon polariton propagation distances in epitaxial Ag films. By minimizing scattering from grain boundaries and surface roughness, how intrinsic processes such as electron-electron and electron-phonon scattering determine the optical properties of metallic films will be examined. (ii) Investigation of exciton-plasmon interaction in hybrid nanostructures, and particularly the quantum dynamics of individual semiconductor emitters near the epitaxial thin films and plasmonic nanostructures fabricated from such films.Non-technical Description: This research project is on light-matter interactions at atomically-smooth epitaxial silver films in both the classical and quantum regimes. The research is significant because epitaxial metal films provide many exciting opportunities in fundamental science and applications. Improved understanding of how to shape light-matter interaction using the highest quality metallic films may lead to discoveries of new optoelectronic devices. The project provides extensive training opportunities for graduate and undergraduate student. In addition, the PI plans to implement "flipped classroom" for improving instructional effectiveness in large introductory physics courses, and also to establish a bridge program in collaboration with the University of Texas at El Paso to recruit and mentor minority students.

技术描述：等离子体激元领域是光子学的一个充满活力的前沿领域，旨在通过利用金属或重掺杂半导体中的等离子体共振来操纵远低于衍射极限的光与物质相互作用。与几乎所有等离子体应用相关的一项突出挑战是由于晶界和表面粗糙度而导致的吸收或散射所带来的高损耗。在常用的材料中，银（Ag）在较宽的波长范围内具有最好的特性和最低的损耗。该项目的目标是研究原子级光滑的外延银薄膜，以及由此类薄膜制成或放置在其附近的纳米结构，作为等离子体应用的新平台。具体目标包括： (i) 外延银薄膜中光学常数的表征和表面等离子体激元传播距离的测量。通过最大限度地减少晶界和表面粗糙度的散射，将研究电子-电子和电子-声子散射等内在过程如何决定金属薄膜的光学特性。 (ii) 研究混合纳米结构中的激子-等离子体激元相互作用，特别是外延薄膜和由此类薄膜制成的等离子体纳米结构附近的单个半导体发射器的量子动力学。非技术描述：该研究项目是关于经典和量子状态下原子光滑外延银薄膜的光与物质相互作用。这项研究意义重大，因为外延金属薄膜在基础科学和应用领域提供了许多令人兴奋的机会。提高对如何使用最高质量的金属薄膜塑造光与物质相互作用的理解可能会导致新光电器件的发现。该项目为研究生和本科生提供广泛的培训机会。此外，PI还计划实施“翻转课堂”，以提高大型物理入门课程的教学效果，并与德克萨斯大学埃尔帕索分校合作建立一个桥梁项目，以招募和指导少数族裔学生。