The study of optoelectronics and photonics in nanocomposite and nanostructured materials

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The aim of the proposed research program is to study light-matter interactions in nano-scale composite (nanocomposite) materials which are fabricated by combining two or more semiconductor, metallic, or biological nanostructures. By using various combinations of these nanostructures one can create enormous numbers of nanocomposite materials. These materials have important applications in chemical and biological sensing and optical communications and information processing. When one or more external electromagnetic fields are applied to a nanocomposite system, the constituent nanostructures become optically excited. The optical excitations in semiconductor and biological nanostructures are electron-hole pairs (excitons), while excitations in metallic nanostructures are collective oscillations of electrons (plasmons). The interaction of light with a nanocomposite system can be controlled by the shape, size and relative positions of the constituent nanostructures. Due to strong light-matter interactions, nanocomposites also hold great promise for controlling nonlinear optical properites as well as energy transfer and storage between nanostructures. Therefore, these materials are an ideal platform for fundamental research on light-matter interactions and physics at the interface of classical electrodynamics and quantum mechanics. The practical applications and basic science of nanocomposites will be studied through theoretical design, modeling, and simulations. Our group has already established productive international collaborations with experimental and theoretical research groups to synthesize and analyze functional nanocomposite materials, and we will continue our collaborative research efforts. It is expected that this research will provide a basic physical understanding and development of new types of nano-devices including optical sensors, light emitters, and optical switches. Research on nanocomposites also has many applications in nanoscale energy transport and solar energy trapping and harvesting.