UNS: Tunable Plasmonic Nanostructures by Atomic Layer Deposition

1511138(威利斯)等离子体是一个通用术语，描述了一系列研究光与贵金属纳米结构相互作用的研究活动。贵金属是指在潮湿的空气中耐腐蚀和氧化的金属。Ru、Rh、Pd、银、Os、Ir、铂和金都是贵金属。由于对等离子体材料应用的研究越来越多，等离子体领域正在迅速发展。这些应用包括光催化、生化传感器、光探测器和太阳能收集，包括获取红外(IR)波长。等离子体材料的中心特征是局域表面等离子体共振，导致微小金属粒子对电磁辐射的强吸收和散射。计划开展一项研究可调谐等离子体纳米结构的实验研究计划，重点是研究电连接的工艺方案。等离子体材料的中心特征是局域表面等离子体共振，它导致贵金属小颗粒对可见光和近红外辐射的强吸收和散射。这种共振对纳米结构的大小和形状以及材料和周围环境的介电性质很敏感，并且可以在整个可见光/近红外区域进行调谐。光学现象和电荷转移过程的耦合是等离子体材料科学中令人兴奋的新领域之一。在这项工作中，PI计划研究贵金属在Pd纳米结构上的原子层沉积，以调节由几个纳米量级的纳米GaP耦合的导电纳米结构的光学和电学性质。原子层沉积将被用来创建电耦合等离子体纳米结构，这种结构将纳米级的光学和电学现象结合在一起。这项研究应该会增强在纳米尺度上设计关键尺寸约为1纳米的有用结构的能力。更广泛的影响包括STEM教育和推广活动，包括通过新的高级实验室实验为教育建设基础设施，启动新的研究生指导计划，支持本科生研究和未被充分代表的学生群体的参与，以及接待高中生和教师进行暑期学习活动。

1511138(Willis)Plasmonics is a general term that describes a broad array of research activity to study the interaction of light with noble metal nanostructures. Noble metals are metals that are resistant to corrosion and oxidation in moist air. Ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, silver, osmium, iridium, platinum, and gold are noble metals. The field of plasmonics is growing rapidly due an increasing number of studies on the applications of plasmonic materials. These applications are for their uses in photocatalysis, as biochemical sensors, as photodetectors, and for solar energy harvesting, including harvesting infrared (IR) wavelengths.The central features of plasmonic materials are localized surface plasmon resonances that lead to strong absorption and scattering of electromagnetic radiation by small metal particles. An experimental research program to investigate tunable plasmonic nano structures is planned, with an emphasis on process schemes for electrical connectivity. The central features of plasmonic materials are localized surface plasmon resonances that lead to strong absorption and scattering of visible and near-IR radiation by small noble metal particles. The resonances are sensitive to the size and shape of nanostructures as well as the dielectric properties of the materials and surroundings, and can be tuned throughout the visible/near-IR region. The coupling of optical phenomena and charge transfer processes is one of the exciting new areas of the science of plasmonic materials. In this work, the PI plans to investigate atomic layer deposition of noble metals on Pd nanostructures to tune the optical and electrical properties of electrically conductive nanostructures coupled by nanogaps on the order of a few nanometers. Atomic layer deposition will be used to create electrically coupled plasmonic nanostructures that combine optical and electrical phenomena at the nanoscale. This research should enhance the ability to engineer useful structures at the nanoscale with critical dimensions on the order of 1 nm.The broader impacts encompass STEM educational and outreach activities, including building infrastructure for education through new senior laboratory experiments, starting a new graduate student mentoring program, supporting undergraduate research and participation by underrepresented student populations, and hosting high school students and teachers for summer learning activities.