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Center for Nonlinear Studies |
Surface plasmons, the collective oscillations of the conduction electrons of metallic nanostructures, have been the subject of extensive investigation in the past years due to their extraordinary ability to confine electromagnetic energy into subwavelength spatial regions, and therefore to produce strong near fields. These properties have been exploited to develop applications as diverse as photothermal cancer therapies, ultrasensitive sensors, or enhanced photovoltaic devices. However, the majority of these examples involve the use of three-dimensional nanostructures made of noble metals, which imposes some important limitations to the properties and the scalability of these systems. In this talk, we will explore new platforms for plasmonic applications, ranging from alternative materials such as graphene or aluminum, to new low dimensional systems, including organic molecules or 2D metallic structures. We will discuss how these novel platforms can provide strong tunable responses covering a large part of the electromagnetic spectrum, together with ultracompact sizes, thus offering new capabilities beyond the conventional plasmonic systems.
Host: Wilton Kort-Kamp