Study of Plasmonics in Hybrid Nanostructures

等离子体和纳米光子学的研究有可能重塑金属纳米杂化材料中光-物质相互作用的物理学，并将其应用于纳米技术和纳米医学。纳米杂化材料由量子发射器、金属纳米结构、极性材料和光子晶体组成。我们正在进入一个制造和数值模拟技术空前发展的时代，以了解纳米杂化材料的物理学。尽管人们普遍认为纳米杂化材料将在科学技术中发挥重要作用，但研究人员正试图回答一个关键问题：纳米杂化材料的散射光是如何增强或猝灭的，以及为什么散射光的强度取决于纳米杂化材料的大小和形状？我的研究计划将通过理论公式、计算建模以及理论和实验之间的比较来回答这些关键问题。我们将具体评估由三种类型的金属纳米结构制备的纳米杂化材料中的光散射：(1)无间隙材料(即石墨烯、锗、硅烯)；(2)贵金属(纳米球、纳米壳、纳米棱镜)和(3)超材料。此外，还将使用神经元和石墨烯制成的纳米杂化材料来研究大脑中神经元的动力学特性。由于光(光子)与表面等离子体的耦合，我们将通过改变纳米杂化材料的形状和大小来计算表面等离子体激元。我们将研究由于表面等离子体光的吸收而在金属纳米结构中产生的冷载流子和热载流子引起的等离子体加热的物理学。等离子体加热的减少将提高纳米器件的寿命。另一方面，等离子体加热的增强可用于肿瘤的光热治疗。我们还将致力于了解激子和表面等离子体激子相互作用导致量子发射体中荧光增强和猝灭的机制。荧光的增强将改善对人体内较小肿瘤的检测。我的研究计划将解决等离子体激元研究前沿的问题，并提供有关纳米杂化材料中光-物质相互作用的基础知识。它还将有助于制造等离子体和光子传感和开关纳米器件。我们已经开展了许多国际合作，并期待积极参与等离子体激元研究。这一研究项目肯定会提高加拿大在纳米技术和纳米医学方面的竞争力，并将提供一个培训环境，让我的学生在不同的行业找到工作，包括学术界、政府和工业界。

The study of plasmonics and nanophotonics has the potential to reshape the physics of light-matter interactions in metallic nanohybrids and their applications to nanotechnology and nanomedicine. Nanohybrids are made from quantum emitters, metallic nanostructures, polar materials and photonic crystals. We are entering an era of unprecedented development of fabrication and numerical simulation techniques to understand the physics of nanohybrids. Despite widespread recognitions that nanohybrids will play a significant role in science and technology, researchers are trying to answer the key question: how is the scattered light from nanohybrids enhanced or quenched and why does the intensity of the scattered light depend on the size and shapes of nanohybrids? My research program will answer these key questions through theoretical formulations, computational modeling and comparison between our theory and experiments. We will specifically assess the light scattering in nanohybrids fabricated from three types of metallic nanostructures: (1) gapless materials (i.e. graphene, germanene, silicene); (2) noble metals (nanospheres, nanoshells, nanoprism) and (3) metamaterials. In addition, the dynamical properties of neurons in the brain will be investigated using nanohybrids made from neurons and graphene. We will calculate surface plasmon polaritons by varying the shape and size of nanohybrids due to the coupling of light (photon) with surface plasmons. We will study the physics of the plasmon heating due to cold and hot carriers that are produced in metallic nanostructures due to the absorption of light from surface plasmons. The reduction of plasmon heating will improve the life of nanodevices. On the other hand, the enhancement of the plasmon heating can be used for photothermal cancer therapy. We will also work to understand the mechanism of the enhancement and quenching of the fluorescence in quantum emitters due to the exciton and surface plasmon polariton interactions. The enhancement of the fluorescence will improve the detection of smaller tumors in the human body. My research program will address questions at the forefront of plasmonic research and provide fundamental knowledge on light-matter interactions in nanohybrids. It will also help to fabricate plasmonic and photonic sensing and switching nanodevices. We have many international collaborations in place and expect to participate actively in plasmonics research. This research program will surely contribute to Canada's competitiveness in nanotechnology and nanomedicine and will provide a training environment that will allow my students to find employment in diverse sectors including academics, government and industry.