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Surface plasmon based sub-wavelength optics
Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are collective electron oscillations interacting with the electromagnetic field of the light at a metal-dielectric interface. SPPs enable us to exploit the unique optical properties of metallic nano-structures to route and manipulate of light at the sub-wavelength scale beyond the diffraction limit. We are investigating the fundamentals and applications of the light-matter interaction in sub-wavelength plasmonic structures for compact, high-speed and power-efficient light emitters, modulators and sensors.
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Electrically activated surface plasmonic devices
Passive and active plasmonic devices provide new pathways to generate, guide, modulate and detect light with structures that are similar in size to state-of-the-art electronic devices. Electrically activated plasmonics will become a pervasive technology, naturally interfacing with similar-speed photonic devices and with similar-size electronic components.
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Optical antennas for near-field optics, photovoltaics and photocatalysis
We can define the optical antenna as “a device designed to efficiently convert free-propagating optical radiation to localized energy, and vice versa.” In order to maximize the interactions of light and materials, it is necessary to concentrate external light incidence to dimensions comparable with the electron mean free path that is at least an order of magnitude smaller than the diffraction limit. Optical antennas will likely be used to increase spatial resolution in near-field microscopy and boost the efficiencies and quantum yields in photovoltaics and photocatalysis.
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