CAREER: Near-Field Imaging for Nanoscale Visualization of Exciton-Plasmon Energy Transfer

在化学系化学测量和成像项目的支持下，新墨西哥大学（UNM）的Habteyes教授正在开发一种新型光学显微镜，适用于测量几纳米（一米的十亿分之一）表面上的小颗粒之间的光相互作用。这种类型的测量为了解小颗粒如何相互作用以及如何控制光流提供了新的信息。它还有助于开发太阳能收集和环境监测的新材料。Habteyes教授正在与年轻的科学家一起进行跨学科的科学研究项目，其中包括夏季来自高地高中的学生。Habteyes教授积极地从历史上代表性不足的群体中招募学生到他的实验室，并正在为他在新墨西哥大学教授的本科化学课程开发新的动手实验。Habteyes教授开发了一种新型的超分辨率光学显微镜，称为近场激发和近场探测（NFED）。新的显微镜允许他通过绘制由激子-等离子体能量转移引起的表面等离子体模式来研究激子半导体和等离子体金属纳米级材料之间的相互作用。利用NFED技术的独特能力和半导体量子点（QDs）和金属纳米结构（MNSs）作为模型激子和等离子体系统，他致力于理解和控制与等离子体纳米粒子耦合的自组装量子点的行为，通过确定激子-等离子体激元的能量转移效率来研究量子点- mns的相互作用，将能量转移过程与其他竞争的激发衰减通道分离，了解和优化界面性质，使激子-等离子体相互作用最大化，实现共轭激子和等离子体材料的远程能量传递。激子和等离子体材料之间的耦合有望增强光-物质相互作用，控制光子发射，并创造自然界中不存在的新超材料特性。参与本项目的学生将学习广泛的技能，从纳米材料的设计和集成到最先进的新型超分辨率近场扫描光学显微镜的开发。Habteyes教授还积极参与外展活动，从代表性不足的地方群体中招募STEM学生。

With support from the Chemical Measurement and Imaging Program in the Division of Chemistry, Professor Habteyes at the University of New Mexico (UNM) is developing a new type of light microscope that is suited for measuring how light interacts among small particles on a surface within a few nanometers (one-billionth of a meter). This type of measurements provides new information to understand how small particles interact with each other and how to control light flow. It also helps to develop new materials for solar energy harvesting and environmental monitoring. Professor Habteyes is working with young scientists together on his interdisciplinary scientific research projects, including students from Highland High School over summer months. Professor Habteyes actively recruits students from the historically underrepresented groups to his lab and is developing new hands-on experiments for the undergraduate chemistry courses he teaches at UNM.Professor Habteyes develops a new type of super-resolution optical microscope that is referred to as near-field excitation and near-field detection (NFED). The new microscope allows him to investigate the interaction between excitonic semiconductor and plasmonic metal nanoscale materials by mapping the surface plasmon modes induced by exciton-plasmon energy transfer. Using the unique capability of the NFED technique and semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) and metal nanostructures (MNSs) as model excitonic and plasmonic systems, he is working on understanding and controlling the behavior of self-assembled QDs that are coupled with plasmonic MNSs, investigating QD-MNS interaction by determining the exciton-plasmon energy transfer efficiency, separating the energy transfer process from other competing excitation decay channels, and understanding and optimizing interface properties so that the exciton-plasmon interaction is maximized and long range energy transfer can be achieved in conjugated excitonic and plasmonic materials. The coupling between excitonic and plasmonic materials promises enhanced light-matter interaction, control of photon emission, and creation of new metamaterials properties that do not exist in nature. Students working on this project are expected to learn broad set of skills, ranging from design and integration of nanomaterials to the development of state-of-the-art novel super-resolution near-field scanning optical microscopes. Professor Habteyes is also actively engaged in outreach to recruit STEM students from the underrepresented local groups.