Spectroscopy of Many-Body Processes in Nanostructures

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NONTECHNICAL SUMMARYThe CMMT program of the Division of Materials Research and the HBCU-UP program of the division of Human Resource Development jointly fund this award that supports research and education in theoretical and computational studies of plasmon-enhanced optical spectroscopy. Surface plasmons are collective electronic oscillations that can be created at the interface of metal/dielectric structures. Plasmons can interact strongly with molecules and solids to significantly change their optical characteristics. In such plasmonic systems, the optical interactions between surface plasmons and semiconductor nanostructures or dye molecules form the basis for numerous applications in photovoltaics, optical sensing, and photochemistry, among others. This project aims at modeling the optical properties of complex plasmonic systems that are determined by interactions and/or energy transfer processes between the systems' constituent parts. The research is carried out at Jackson State University, which is a historically black university that primarily serves the educational needs of Mississippi's largest urban community and provides research opportunities to undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented minority groups. A major goal of the Physics department at Jackson State University is to increase the fraction of African-American students interested in pursuing careers in STEM disciplines. This project will enhance the research and education opportunities for African-American undergraduate students in Mississippi by introducing them to concepts and methods of research in nanoscience.TECHNICAL SUMMARYThe CMMT program of the Division of Materials Research and the HBCU-UP program of the division of Human Resource Development jointly fund this award that supports research and education in theoretical and computational studies of plasmon-enhanced optical spectroscopy. The project aims at studying many-body and cooperative phenomena in complex plasmonic systems, such as metal or graphene structures conjugated with semiconductor nanostructures or dye molecules. The main topics include: i) loss compensation and spaser action in composite nanoparticles with metal core and dye-doped dielectric shell, ii) energy transfer processes in large ensembles of fluorophores situated near plasmonic structures, iii) strong exciton-plasmon coupling in hybrid plasmonic systems, and iv) graphene plasmonics. The main research focus is on the role of crosstalk between system constituents in determining the structure of system eigenstates that governs plasmon-enhanced spectroscopy phenomena. The methods include a combination of analytical and numerical approaches suitable for plasmonic systems with many constituent parts. The results will be used to explain available experimental data and to model the efficiency of plasmon-based sensing devices. The research is carried out at Jackson State University, which is a historically black university that primarily serves the educational needs of Mississippi's largest urban community and provides research opportunities to undergraduate students from traditionally underrepresented minority groups. A major goal of the Physics department at Jackson State University is to increase the fraction of African-American students interested in pursuing careers in STEM disciplines. This project will enhance the research and education opportunities for African-American undergraduate students in Mississippi by introducing them to concepts and methods of research in nanoscience.