Professor Stefan Maier of the Physics Dept., Imperial College, London

Title: Plasmonic Nanocavities & Plasmonic Metamaterials: Spatial and Spectral Mode Engineering from the visible to the THz regime

Abstract:

It is well established that plasmonics enables the design of the spatial properties of electromagnetic modes on a length scale below the diffraction limit. Taking examples from our recent work in the visible, near- and far-infrared parts of the spectrum, we will elucidate how control over the spectral and spatial properties of both sub-wavelength plasmonic cavities and waveguides can be achieved. This will include a discussion of dark modes and Fano resonances in metallic nanostructures, designed SERS hot spots in colloidal dimers, and the design of both planar and cylindrical plasmonic metamaterials for the creation of plasmon-like modes in the THz regime.

Federico Capasso
Robert L. Wallace Professor of Applied Physics
Vinton Hayes Senior Research Fellow in Electrical Engineering
Harvard University

Forces out of Nothing: Vacuum Fluctuations, Quantum Levitation and the Future of Nanomachines

Thursday, March 12, 2009
 Lecture 4:00 p.m. - McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall
 Reception 5:00pm - Martel Hall

ECE Distinguished Lecture Series

Nader Engheta, University of Pennsylvania

Rice University
McMurtry Auditorium, Duncan Hall