This program focuses on developing novel optoelectronic systems that are able to efficiently manipulate infrared light well-beyond the diffraction limit. Through these efforts we target enhancing and controlling how light interacts with nanoscale matter to greatly improve the sensitivity and selectivity of sensing technologies; lower the size, weight, and power (SWaP) of optical systems; and realize all-optical nanophotonic circuitry. To achieve this, we exploit the unique optical properties of nanostructured materials that support plasmon polariton and phonon polariton resonances.
In general, within our group we design, fabricate, characterize, and model novel IR nanophotonic systems that support epsilon near zero modes, volume confined hyperbolic polaritons, surface confined polaritons, and topologically protected photonic states. As most of our efforts target infrared applications, we heavily target phonon polariton materials that are able to support extremely low-loss resonances that span the mid-infrared through terahertz spectral regimes. To carry out this work, we 1) nanostructure materials using e-beam lithography, photolithography and 3D printing nanolithography (nanoscribe) techniques; 2) characterize nanostructures with a suite of optical techniques that including: reflection, transmission, photoluminescence, thermal emission, and Raman spectroscopies as well as scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscopy; and 3) perform Full-wave electromagnetic modeling with COMSOL and CST Studio software packages enable us to model, design, and understand novel nanophotonic states in the infrared.
Dunkelberger, Ellis et al. Nature Photonics 12, 50-56 (2018)
Ellis, Tischler, et al. Scientific Reports 6, 32959 (2016)
Caldwell, Kretinin, et al. Nature Communications 5, 5221 (2014)
Terahertz; Infrared; Plasmons; Photonics; Nanophotonics; Hyperbolic Materials; Nanoscribe, ebeam lithography, photolithography, finite element modeling