Microspherical Superlens Windows to the Quantum World
Abstract
To boost the development of functional nanomaterials there is a strong need for a fast and cost-effective imaging tool to probe the,morphology and properties of the nano-objects. Today there exists a gap between highly-resolved spatial characterizations of nano-ob,jects (TEM, EELS, cathodoluminescence), which are time-consuming, costly and require extremely advanced state-of-the-art expertise t,o operate, and the standard optical microscopy with a much poorer spatial resolution. Moreover, the optoelectronic properties of sem,iconductor nanomaterilas are driven by quantum size effects, and therefore there is a strong need for an imaging tool providing fast, assessment of both morphological and spectral properties. Nowadays, the resolution of optical microscopes has almost reached the di,ffraction limit, and further development of microscopy on the road to new disruptive imaging technology requires a search for a grou,ndbreaking way. The present project aims to fill the existing gap by developing nanoscopy of functional building blocks of modern op,toelectronics devices based on using single quantum objects (plasmonic and semiconductor nanowires), arrays of nanowires, and metama,terial structures. Spcifically, we will take advantage of the recently developed enabling technology polymer-embedded microspher,e arrays. These arrays can be easily manipulated and applied to different types of nanomaterials.The ambition of this project is not, only to use the microspheres for super-resolution imaging but also to bring them in interaction with underlying nanostructures for,enhancing their response or creating new functionalities. In the novel approach proposed in this project, the elementary emission an,d absorption processes in quantum devices are influenced by the properties of the optical superlens strongly coupled to quantum emit,ters leading to reduced radiative lifetimes, enhanced quantum efficiency of emission and absorption processes, and controlled angula,r characteristics of the optoelectronic devices. The project is relevant to the "BA-1 Basic Research (6.1)" category of the S&T Stra,tegic Plan.US collaborator is Prof. Vasily Astratov (Physics and Optical Science at the University of North Carolina-Charlotte). The, desired outcomes of the research effort are foreseen to be conference presentations, journal articles and additional research.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 16, 2022
- Source ID
- N629092212031
Entities
People
- Yury P Rakovich
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy