3DNCPM · Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Chiral Plasmonic Metamaterials

Three-Dimensional Nonlinear Chiral Plasmonic Metamaterials

The main research objective of the 3DNCPM research is to deepen the understanding of the processes underlying the nonlinear optical responses of three-dimensional (3D) chiral plasmonic metamaterials. The main goal is to investigate the microscopic origins of the nonlinear chiral response, as well as the involved nonlinear generation processes. On the one hand, this will enable to maximize the conversion efficiencies. On the other hand, it will allow the construction of more complex chiral systems with tailored nonlinear optical responses. To this end, the 3DNCPM project aims at exploiting the state-of-the art metamaterial designs and plasmonic nanometallic structure fabrication technology to answer fundamental questions on the processes underlying the nonlinear optical responses of 3D chiral plasmonic nanostructures. Despite some initial experiments in the field of nonlinear chiral plasmonics, a surprisingly large number of open questions remain. The entanglement of a multitude of different factors such as linear properties, spatial symmetries, changing near-field distributions, the presence of different materials and multiple resonances makes it nearly impossible to deduce the origin of the nonlinear response and the true influence of the individual subsystems. One of the main drawbacks of the conducted experiments, surprisingly, appears to be the complexity of the structures. In particular, planar chiral metamaterials that have mostly been utilized do not present structural variation in the propagation direction, hence giving very small CD signals and any optical activity observed is due to the symmetry breaking owed to the substrate. Three-dimensionality, on the other hand, has the advantage of larger optical activity; therefore, by appropriately designing 3D unit cells, enhancement of the nonlinear optical activity processes can be greatly increased. The 3DNCPM project contributes to scientific literacy by enhancing public understanding to scientific concepts and processes related to plasmonics and metamaterials nanotechnology. In particular, it engages the public in social conversation, stimulates social interaction and public participation in society by expressing positions that are scientifically and technologically informed through reading with understanding science articles in the popular press, through the participation to Open Science Days and through social networking and the internet. Focus on such subjects creates a critical mass of both human potential and knowledge in the European society that can have direct influence on the technological, sociological and economic development of the EU. Also, specific research outcomes through the 3DNCPM project are expected to stimulate the field of nano-optics, plasmonics, and metamaterials significantly, as they take basic research efforts into the applied world (e.g., for optical, medical and pharmaceutical technologies). Transferring this fundamental knowledge to industry contributes to the advance of industrial innovation and directly transforms the latest scientific findings into added value hence, maximizing the impact of new technologies on jobs and work division as a large proportion of firms would not have developed new products and processes in the absence of academic research.

Текст от CORDIS, на английски · Данни: CORDIS, © Европейски съюз