i. RESEARCH AREA 9: MATERIALS SCIENCE, 9.1 Materials by Design., Title: Reconfigurable Optical Properties in the Near-IR Enabled by Bottom-Up Assembly of Nanoengineered Materials
Abstract
The objective of the research is to understand the fundamental optical processes that can be utilized to design and dynamically control the optical properties of artificial nanoscale structures (metamaterials) composed of integrated plasmonic and emitter elements. The approach will exploit self-assembly techniques that are amenable to large-area deposition of tunable photonic, optoelectronic, and quantum devices. The research includes three major tasks: 1) Design, fabricate, and characterize film-coupled nanoparticle structures, based on plasmonic antennas, with resonances in the near-infrared and infrared (IR) ranges relying on properties derived from constructions with sub-10 nm dimensions; 2) Integrate optically active materials, specifically colloidal quantum dots, into the resonant plasmonic nanoantennas and probe the resulting optical properties; 3) Embed phase-change or other tunable materials into the nanoantennas to enable dynamic and local tuning of plasmon resonances. The proposed research will advance our insight into fundamental physical behavior and phenomena arising between optical fields and emitters embedded in highly engineered photonic materials with components of sub-10 nm dimensions. This project is expected to enable entirely new and extreme material responses and pave the way for vast performance improvements of existing devices including light sources, sensors, and detectors in the near-IR, as well as bring devices with new functionalities, such as quantum networks, closer to reality. Critical for rapid transition from discovery to delivery, affordable bottom-up assembly will be leveraged throughout the project to bridge the molecular-to-nano-to-macro scale for inch-sized flexible materials with properties derived from sub-10 nm-scale constructions.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- May 22, 2017
- Source ID
- W911NF1610471
Entities
People
- Maiken H Mikkelsen
Organizations
- Army Contracting Command
- Duke University
- United States Army