Twist and route canalized polariton nano-light in MoO3 microstructures

在小尺度上对光的操纵对于精密的生物医学治疗、快速光学电路、超分辨率显微镜和许多其他方面都很重要。为此，最近的努力通常涉及一种称为偏振子纳米光的纳米级光波。极化子纳米光在材料中的传播就像水池中传播的水波纹。它们携带光的能量，并受到材料特性的影响。这个项目探索了在一种新型的层状材料：三氧化钼中操纵极化子纳米光。该研究小组计划通过以类似乐高的方式堆叠和扭曲三氧化钼来调整极化子纳米光的波前几何形状。极化子纳米光的能量流也可以通过三氧化钼的几何结构来路由，用于各种实际应用，包括生化传感，纳米制造和光学力。此外，该项目还为本科生和研究生，特别是代表性不足的少数民族学生提供了关于扫描探针纳米光学表征、电磁模拟和货车德瓦尔斯材料制造的培训机会。该项目的主要目标是通过货车德瓦尔斯扭曲和结构化三氧化钼来探索纳米级光物质波--偏振子纳米光的传播路径和波前结构。路由和配置依赖于极化激元纳米光在三氧化钼中的电磁方向性：它们沿沿着特定方向传播，具有极强的各向异性电磁场。这种电磁方向性表明，通过堆叠的vdW结构中的极化激元纳米光的电磁相互作用的波前配置。该研究小组利用最先进的光学纳米成像和电磁模拟技术，以直接的真实空间图像揭示配置的极化子纳米光。此外，研究小组计划研究不受传统光学定律支配的奇异光学物理，当额外的几何结构应用于已经定向的纳米光时。该项目预计将补充现有的知识在货车范德瓦尔斯材料和极化激元纳米光学的扭曲配置和奇异的光学物理的定向极化激元纳米光的理解，并展示原型货车范德瓦尔斯结构与定制和可重构的属性按需纳米光学功能。 该项目由材料研究部的电子和光子学材料计划和刺激竞争性研究的既定计划（EPSCoR）共同资助。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The manipulation of light at small scales is important for delicate biomedical treatment, fast optical circuits, super-resolution microscopy and many others. For this purpose, recent efforts typically involve a type of nanoscale optical waves called polariton nano-light. Polariton nano-light travel in materials like water ripples propagating in a pool. They carry the energy of light and are affected by material properties. This project explores the manipulation of polariton nano-light in a new type of layered material: molybdenum trioxide. The research team plans to tune the wavefront geometry of polariton nano-light by stacking and twisting molybdenum trioxide in a LEGO-like fashion. The energy flow of polariton nano-light can also be routed by geometric structuring of molybdenum trioxide, for a variety of practical applications including biochemical sensing, nano-manufacturing and optical forces. In addition, this project provides the training opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students, especially the underrepresented minorities, on scanning probe nano-optical characterization, electromagnetic simulation and van der Waals material fabrication. The outreach and summer research activities provide K-12 students and high-school teachers hand-on research experience and teaching units for their curriculum.The primary goal of the project is to explore the propagation routing and wavefront configuration of nanoscale light-matter waves – polariton nano-light – by van der Waals twisting and structuring of molybdenum trioxide. The routing and configuration rely on the electromagnetic directionality of polariton nano-light in molybdenum trioxide: they propagate along certain direction(s) with extremely anisotropic electromagnetic field. This electromagnetic directionality suggests the wavefront configuration via electromagnetic interactions of polariton nano-light in stacked vdW structures. The research team exploits state-of-the-art optical nano-imaging and electromagnetic simulation to reveal the configured polariton nano-light with straightforward real-space images. Furthermore, the research team plans to investigate exotic optical physics that are ungoverned by conventional optics laws, when additional geometric structuring is applied to the already directional nano-light. This project is expected to complement current knowledge in van der Waals materials and polaritonic nano-optics with the understanding of twisting configuration and exotic optical physics of directional polariton nano-light, and demonstrate the prototype van der Waals structures with tailored and reconfigurable properties for on-demand nano-optical functionalities. This project is jointly funded by the Electronic and Photonics Materials Program in the Division of Materials Research and the Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.