DMREF: Collaborative Research: Semiconductor Heterostructure Platform for Active Nonlocal Plasmonic and Hyperbolic Materials

非技术描述：多层复合材料，旨在结合反射金属和透明电介质的特性，有可能彻底改变光学显微镜，控制分子发射，甚至使隐形斗篷成为可能。然而，到目前为止，多层结构所取得的优势是有限的。减少层厚、减少吸收和实现光学增益被认为是推动多层介质光学走向其革命性潜力的一些可能的方法。在这个项目中，我们的合作团队将致力于通过精心设计的实验、计算和分析研究来理解自由电子等离子体的光学响应，从而强调多层复合材料的光子学。特别令人感兴趣的将是小层厚度的限制，量子力学效应有望表现出来，以及光学增益和损耗之间的相互作用。该项目将为学生参与跨学科研究提供新的机会，从而提高美国高科技劳动力的竞争力。小组成员亦会举办多项外展活动，以扩大学龄及本科生对STEM的参与。技术描述：等离子体超材料——由金属或高度掺杂的半导体组件产生定制光学响应的纳米结构复合材料——有望彻底改变我们对光-物质相互作用的理解，实现新的应用，包括完美的光吸收剂、隐形斗篷、亚波长成像、聚焦和引导。在这个项目中，团队将对半导体层状超材料进行全面的跨学科研究，以期理解非均质中尺度等离子体系统中光-物质相互作用的基本原理。特别感兴趣的将是(i)理解等离子体系统的光学响应，其中自由电荷的运动受到几何形状的限制，导致非局部电磁学；（ii）耦合非局部纳米等离子体系统中光传播、发射和吸收的基本原理。开发的有源非局部等离子体描述将适用于在整个光谱中工作的多种材料平台。该计划将为培养下一代跨学科劳动力提供多种机会，并将作为面向本科生、在校学生和学校教师的拓展活动的平台。

NON-TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Multilayered composites, designed to combine the properties of reflective metals and transparent dielectrics, have the potential to revolutionize optical microscopy, control emission of molecules, and even to enable cloaks of invisibility. However, until now the advantages achieved with multilayered structures have been limited. Decreasing layer thickness, reducing absorption, and implementing optical gain have been named as some of the possible ways to advance the optics of multilayered media towards its revolutionary potential. In this project, our collaborative team will aim to understand, through carefully designed experimental, computational, and analytical studies, the optical response of free-electron plasma that underlines the photonics of multilayered composites. Of particular interest will be the limits of small layer thickness where quantum-mechanical effects are expected to manifest themselves, and the interaction between optical gain and loss. The program will present new opportunities for engaging students in interdisciplinary research and thus improve competitiveness of the US high-tech workforce. The team members will also implement a number of outreach events to broaden participation of school-aged and undergraduate students in STEM. TECHNICAL DESCRIPTION: Plasmonic metamaterials -- nanostructured composites with tailored optical response resulting from metallic or highly doped semiconducting components -- promise to revolutionize our understanding of light-matter interactions, enabling new applications that include perfect light absorbers, invisibility cloaks, sub-wavelength imaging, focusing, and guiding. In this project the team will perform a comprehensive interdisciplinary study of semiconductor layered metamaterials, with a vision towards understanding the fundamentals of light-matter interaction in heterogeneous mesoscale plasmonic systems. Of particular interest will be (i) understanding the optical response of plasmonic systems where the motion of the free charges is confined by the geometry, leading to nonlocal electromagnetism and to (ii) fundamentals of light propagation, emission, and absorption in coupled nonlocal nanoplasmonic systems. The developed description of active nonlocal plasmonics will be applicable to multiple material platforms operating throughout optical spectrum. The proposed program will provide multiple opportunities for educating the next-generation interdisciplinary workforce and will serve as a platform for outreach activities targeting undergraduates, school students, and school teachers.