Current experimental and theoretical investigations of plasmonic phenomena are indented to be the basis for miniaturization of photonics circuits with length scales much smaller than currently achievable, inter-chip and intra-chip applications in computer systems, and bio/sensor-systems. In our group, experiments and numerical developments conducted to the understanding of this area are daily carried out. We are focused (but not limited) in five areas:
Integrated metaphotonics
Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) phenomenon for sensing
Non-linear and Two-Photon Absorption Luminescence characterization
Leakage radiation microscopy (LRM)
Quantum plasmonics
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This technique has made great impacts in both instrumentation development and applications. SPR sensor technology has been commercialized and SPR biosensors have become a central tool for characterizing and quantifying biomolecular interactions. We conduct technological and basic science in SPR technology. Future prospects of SPR sensor technology are discussed and being implemented. Current research focuses on the development of chemical sensors for the measurement of chemical properties such as dissociation rates for different reactions and concentrations.
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LRM is a far-field visualization technique which allows real-time observation of SPPs. It consists basically of detecting the radiation that leaks into the substrate due to conservation of the wave-vector. The leakage radiation angle of SPPs is larger than the critical angle; therefore, an objective with a numerical aperture N.A. > 1 is used to collect the radiation. The desired plasmonic modes are excited using a focusing objective)which illuminates the structures of interest. The excited SPPs couple to radiating modes in the substrate and are collected with an oil-immersion objective. LRM permits simultaneous access to direct and indirect (Fourier) plane. Moreover, the leakage radiation is detected in a in real-time, thus avoids the time-consuming scan of SNOM.
A relatively new branch of plasmonics is Quantum Plasmonics. The quantum properties of suface plasmons can be studied with the help of stable single-photon sources, such as nanodiamonds with nitrogen-vacancy centers. Nitrogen-vacancy (NV) centers in diamond are defects in the crystal structure consisting of a nitrogen atom and a lattice vacancy oriented along the [111] direction. NV centers are of interest because they behave as artificial atoms and can be used as single photon sources. Photostability is another important characteristic of NV centers. In spintronics, these color centers offer the possibility to measure the electronic spin optically at room temperatures, thus facilitating the research in quantum information processing.
