Nanomaterials and optical instrumentation

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Interaction between light and matter can be tuned, enhanced or inhibited by controlling the characteristic of a material on a small enough scale. When a material is periodically textured on a scale comparable to the wavelength of light, resonant scattering leads to strong dispersion and the appearance of photonic band gaps. When the scale of texturing is further reduced to the nanometer scale, quantum-size effects modify electronic states and the optical properties of the material itself, as can be seen in quantum wells, wires and dots. Considering the range of possibilities textured materials and nanomaterials offer (commercial, scientific or otherwise), it is understandable that this area of research is currently very active, and probably will be for the next decade. With this in mind, the research proposal will focus on two areas: 1) nanomaterials for optical applications and 2) novel optical methods and instruments to characterize materials.