Chemical Physics Seminar

Nanophotonics is an exciting new field of science and technology that is directed towards making the smallest possible structures and devices that can manipulate light. Until recently, it was thought that the fundamental laws of diffraction would preclude much further miniaturization of the micron-scale photonic devices we have today. In this presentation, I will show how semiconductor and metallic nanostructures can mold the flow of light in unexpected ways and well below the diffraction limit. As light plays an important role in a wide variety of technologies, it is a worthwhile exercise to explore the many opportunities that this newly found ability might bring. In this talk, I will illustrate the use of plasmonic and high refractive index semiconductor nanostructures in a variety of applications, including nanoscale light sources, photodetectors, and solar fuel generation. I will also discuss several exciting new hybrid semiconductor/plasmonic devices that capitalize the relative strengths of each of the constituent materials to obtain new functionalities.