DynaLight · Light-driven atomic dynamics in solids and liquids – from fundamentals of optics to engineering of novel photonics technologies
Horizon 2020 — Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions
- Duration
- 2019-06-01 → 2021-05-31
- EU contribution
- €189,095
- Participants
- 2
- Scheme
- MSCA-IF-GF
Lines connect the coordinator with its partners.
Results in brief
Light-driven atomic dynamics in solids and liquids – from fundamentals of optics to engineering of novel photonics technologies
Light propagating in a non-dispersive medium is accompanied by a mass density wave of atoms set in motion by the optical force of the field itself. This prediction of the recently introduced mass-polariton theory of light is contrary to previous theories, which assume that atoms are fixed to their equilibrium positions when light propagates in the medium. Building on the success of the mass-polariton theory of light, we applied the theory to develop new experimental setups with the aim to study optical forces and to eventually discover the atomic mass density wave generated by light in solids and liquids. In the project, we also developed the theory further for the detailed position and time dependent description of light in a wide range of dispersive materials varying from glasses to metamaterials. We also studied how this new optical effect could be used to improve existing photonics technologies and to eventually engineer new photonic devices. The project provided the first quantitative measurement of optical forces of light propagating inside a solid material, but the even more challenging experimental observation of the atomic mass density wave effect had to be left for future works since it remained below the noise level of the experiments carried out in the project. In addition, we experimentally investigated the recently observed optical liquid jetting phenomenon in hollow optical fibers, demonstrating its applicability in the precise control of small amounts of liquids. This technique has potential applications in drug delivery and release, localized deposition of novel materials on a substrate, and hyper-fine printings.
Data: CORDIS, © European Union
Project objective
This project aims at applying the mass-polariton (MP) theory of light, developed recently by the Experienced Researcher (ER) and coworkers, to experimentally discover the atomic mass density waves (MDWs) generated by light in solids and liquids. We will allso study how this new optical effect can be used to improve existing photonics technologies and to eventually engineer new photonic devices. In particular, the ER will design, simulate, and participate in experiments to probe the influence of the light-driven MDW shock waves and the resulting sound waves (SWs), thermoelastic waves (TEWs), and thermoviscoelastic waves (TVWs) in hollow optical fibers (HOFs) in the Photonic Device Physics Laboratory of Prof. Kyunghwan Oh at the Yonsei University, South Korea, and in graphene membranes (GMs) in the Photonics Group of Prof. Zhipei Sun at the Aalto University, Finland. The ER will also continue to develop the novel optomechanical continuum dynamics (OCD) model, recently introduced by the ER, for multiphysics description of the MDWs propagating in combined liquid-solid structures with the velocity of light and the accompanied sound and thermal waves propagating at the velocity of sound. The proposed research of coupled field-medium dynamics of light in photonic waveguides and graphene nanostructures provides an interesting approach to development of new photonics technologies, a viable way to new optofluidic applications, and also leads to fundamental advances in our understanding of the propagation of light in dielectrics.
Original text from CORDIS.
Participants
- AALTO KORKEAKOULUSAATIO SR · EspooCoordinatorFinland
- YONSEI UNIVERSITY · SEOULSouth Korea
Links
Data: CORDIS, © European Union