Hybrid Plasmonics at UTSA: Investigating Plasmonic/Magnetic and Plasmonic/Biomolecular Systems

Abstract

Over the past two decades, plasmonics, the study of how light couples to collective oscillations of the conduction electrons in nanomaterials, has risen to prominence as an exciting research field which has yielded important fundamental discoveries (e.g., localized surface plasmon resonance, surface enhanced spectroscopies, plasmon hybridization, and plasmonic waveguiding). Plasmonics has also given rise to numerous practical applications (e.g., biomarker and chemical detection, photothermal cancer therapy, improved solar cells, and heat-assisted magnetic recording). Now that the properties of plasmonic materials are fairly well understood, the current push in the field is to begin understanding how plasmonic systems interact with dissimilar systems, such as magnetic materials and biomolecules. Our team-based approach will use tools from materials physics, biophysics, advanced microscopy, and computational simulation to carry out basic research into these questions. Our improved understanding of these hybrid systems will also create pathways to future technological applications of interest to the DoD, including optically addressable plasmonic/magnetic switches and memory elements, and plasmon-enabled biomolecular transformations.

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Feb 14, 2019
Source ID
W911NF1810439

Entities

People

  • Kathryn M Mayer

Organizations

  • Army Contracting Command
  • Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • University of Texas at San Antonio

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Research Science/Academic Research
  • Theoretical Analysis.

Technology Areas

  • Biotechnology
  • Microelectronics