NICOP - Mid-infrared nanophotonic metamaterials - moving towards applications
Abstract
Mid-infrared nanophotonic metamaterials - moving towards applications:This one-year project of work builds upon our very successful collaboration on mid-infrared nanophotonic materialswith the group of Joshua Caldwell at NRL. Over the last three years, we have established a new materials basis for lightconfinement below the diffraction limit in the mid-infrared, based on silicon carbide and two-dimensional materials.With our new project we now want to build on our fundamental research to explore application areas in both molecularsensing and nonlinear light generation, in a frequency band from about eight to twelve micrometers. This part ofthe spectrum is particularly suited for biodetection, since many relevant biomolecules show strong infrared absorptionlines in this regime. Furthermore, it is of naval relevance for areas such as thermal emission and photodetection or nightvision. The absence of strong sources in the mid-infrared and poor knowledge about the possibility and efficiencies offrequency conversion in this regime, motivates our research into nonlinear frequency conversion based on this material.First forays into sensing were made during a ONRG-funded visit (VSP scheme) of a PhD student to NRL in November2015. With the new programme we will now comprehensively investigate the potential of this system for thermalemission engineering and biosensing as the main focus, and also for nonlinear mid-infrared photonics, a completelyunexplored area.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Nov 23, 2016
- Source ID
- N629091612204
Entities
People
- Vincenzo Giannini
Organizations
- Imperial College London
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy