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Terahertz Sensors Improve Optics

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Air Force Office of Scientific Research-funded Professors Mark L. Brongersma of Stanford University and Stefan A. Maier of Imperial College London are investigating new applications for terahertz sensors.

Based on their research, these sensors could be used for improving optical sources, detectors and modulators for optical interconnections and for creating biomolecules, such as plastic explosives for the Air Force.

Brongersma's work is based on the unprecedented ability of nanometallic or plasmonic structures to concentrate light into deep-subwavelength volumes.

"Currently photodetectors, modulators and other chipscale devices are limited in their size by the fundamental laws of diffraction, but with plasmonics, we can make much more compact devices with one to two order of magnitude better performance parameters," said Brongersma. "As the size of these devices determines their operation speed and power, it's hard to make much more efficient devices."

Maier has demonstrated plasmon waveguides on a silicon platform operating in the telecom band, and under AFOSR support he has realized some of the first plasmonic devices operating at THz frequencies.

"The telecom band is important since that's where data communication is taking place by means of optical fibers and the Internet; the silicon platform is significant because most chips are made of that material," said Maier. "THz frequencies are vital for their sensing of dangerous substances, including plastic explosives and anthrax."

The study of plasmonics is bringing these scientists together as each works on fundamentals, information and biotechnology.

"Our team is working on demonstrating plasmon waveguides and cavities for a wide variety of applications spanning the electromagnetic spectrum from the visible to the microwave regime," said Maier.

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Brongersma's group has worked on the basic concepts behind plasmonics-enabled light concentration and manipulation and is exploring a wide range of applications including faster computer chips, nanostructures synthesis, solar cells, water splitting using photoelectrochemistry, quantum optics and sensing.

Dr. Gernot Pomrenke, a program manager for the AFOSR Physics and Electronics directorate has overseen the research of these scientists for many years and Brongersma credits him with being one of the first program managers in the U.S. to realize the potential importance of plasmonics.

For their outstanding AFOSR-funded experimental and theoretical research in nanoplasmonics and nanophotonics, Brongersma and Maier were awarded the 2010 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences.

"We are very excited that our fields of research have gained sufficient visibility for us to become the topics of such a prestigious prize, and we are excited and honored to share the prize equally," said Brongersma.

The Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences was established through the generosity of Dr. Raymond and Mrs. Beverly Sackler to encourage dedication to science, originality and excellence by awarding it to outstanding young scientists.

The Air Force Office of Scientific Research, located in Arlington, Va., continues to expand the horizon of scientific knowledge through its leadership and management of the Air Force's basic research program. As a vital component of the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFOSR's mission is to discover, shape and champion basic science that profoundly impacts the future Air Force.

For more information, visit:  www.wpafb.af.mil/AFRL/afosr 



Published: June 2010
Glossary
nano
An SI prefix meaning one billionth (10-9). Nano can also be used to indicate the study of atoms, molecules and other structures and particles on the nanometer scale. Nano-optics (also referred to as nanophotonics), for example, is the study of how light and light-matter interactions behave on the nanometer scale. See nanophotonics.
photonics
The technology of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy whose quantum unit is the photon. The science includes light emission, transmission, deflection, amplification and detection by optical components and instruments, lasers and other light sources, fiber optics, electro-optical instrumentation, related hardware and electronics, and sophisticated systems. The range of applications of photonics extends from energy generation to detection to communications and...
plasmonics
Plasmonics is a field of science and technology that focuses on the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and free electrons in a metal or semiconductor at the nanoscale. Specifically, plasmonics deals with the collective oscillations of these free electrons, known as surface plasmons, which can confine and manipulate light on the nanometer scale. Surface plasmons are formed when incident photons couple with the conduction electrons at the interface between a metal or semiconductor...
quantum optics
The area of optics in which quantum theory is used to describe light in discrete units or "quanta" of energy known as photons. First observed by Albert Einstein's photoelectric effect, this particle description of light is the foundation for describing the transfer of energy (i.e. absorption and emission) in light matter interaction.
Air Force Office of Scientific ResearchAmericasanthraxBasic Sciencebiomoleculeschipscale devicesCommunicationsconcentrated lightConnecticutdeep-subwavelength volumesdetectorsenergyEnglandEuropeImagingImperial College LondonMark L. Brongersmamudulatorsnanonanometallicnanostructuresoptical fibersoptical interconnectionsoptical sourcesOpticsphotdectectorsphotoelectrochemistryphotonicsplasmonicsplastic explosivesquantum opticsRaymond and Beverly Sackler PrizeResearch & TechnologySensors & Detectorssilicon platformsolar cellsStanford UniversityStefan A. Maierterahertz sensors

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