ORC Seminar Series

Pre Viva Talks

Speaker: Andrey Denisyuk

Date: Monday 6 April 2009

Time: 2pm

Venue: 46 / 2003 (L/T B)

Abstract: 

Metallic nanoparticles are expected to become essential elements of future nanophotonic devices due to their unique optical properties, which are underpinned by surface plasmon resonances. In this talk it will be shown that nanoscale resolution cathodoluminescence (CL) spectroscopy performed in a scanning electron microscope can be used to demonstrate and investigate the functionalities of nanoparticle-based components:

Gallium nanoparticle phase-change memory provides an important possibility to achieve small bit size and low energy consumption. It will be demonstrated that information can be written into the structural phase of bistable gallium nanoparticles by electron beam excitation and read out via measurements of their CL emission.

‘Optical antennae’ are expected to find applications in field-enhanced spectroscopy and as elements of future nanophotonic circuits. It will be shown that electron-beam-excited pairs of coupled gold nanorods can act as transmitting optical antennae; i.e. they can efficiently convert the energy from a nanoscale excitation (created here by a focused electron beam) into far-field visible radiation.