Wednesday, 27 May 2015 00:50

Nanonics May 2015 newsletter

Nanonics May 2015 newsletter

May 2015 - In This Issue:

Surface Plasmons Photonics Conference in Jerusalem 
May 31-June 5, 2015
JOIN US FOR A COMPANY TOUR AND RECEPTION ON TUESDAY JUNE 2ND IN JERUSALEM AT SPP7!

Nanonics is proud to be a sponsor of the upcoming 
7th International Conference on Surface Plasmon Photonics
in Jerusalem where Nanonics is headquartered. 
 

We are scheduling one-on-one meetings for our customers and conference participants with our experts.  To schedule a meeting please email   

Nanonics will host a reception on the evening, Tuesday June 2nd, including a tour of our company and discussions with application experts on a wide variety of near-field plasmonic topics.  We look forward to meeting you and discussing your exciting research.  Transportation to and from Nanonics will be provided.  


 

Please RSVP by Wednesday May 27th at  to participate in Nanonics events at SPP7  


 

We look forward to welcoming you to Jerusalem and Nanonics!

Hot off the press:  Groundbreaking research in surface plasmons research from Nanonics users
Experimental setup (left) and results (right) where polarization direction is marked by arrow
New lens for switchable focusing of surface plasmons
 
As surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) continue to develop potential for controlling light on the nanoscale, the ability to excite and control these optical modes becomes increasingly important.   A new lens design strategy for SPPs is presented by Wintz, Capasso et al. of Harvard University.  The lens consists of a metasurface (nanostructured surface) composed of nanoslits that can steer the SPPs between foci on the surface based on the incident wavelength. Using a  Nanonics MultiView 4000 system equipped with Nanonics NSOM probes, the authors map the surface plasmon polaritons through through NSOM experiments at multiple wavelengths and polarizations demonstrating switchable focusing and steering of the SPPs as the wavelength or polarization is changed.  This strategy can be used to overcome coupling and focus issues currently present for SPPs as well as providing both wavelength and polarization tunability of the direction of SPP beam propagation. 

Multiprobe Measurements of Dark and Bright Modes in Plasmonic Metasurfaces
 

A common effect associated with extremely thin metal films such as metasurfaces is their ability to transmit radiation, called extraordinary transmission (EOT).  The opposite effect of extraordinary suppressed transmission (EOST) can be accomplished by antenna-like structure patterning on the surface. 

In this important work, authors Dobmann et al. use a  Multiprobe MultiView 4000 to selectively excite different resonant modes in the metasurface and monitor them with NSOM.   They use one NSOM probe to  position and inject light, while a second NSOM probe scans in the vicinity of the illumination probe and detects the light.  The authors observe that far-field irradiation excites the antenna-like, or "bright modes" that are localized on the metal ridges and ultimately suppress transmission almost completely.  A second type of mode also exists where the bound or "dark" surface plasmon polaritons launched from the NSOM tip propagate well across the metasurface, preferentially perpendicular to the grating lines.  This work shows the power of NSOM as a critical tool to investigate dark plasmons as they can only be observed in the near-field.

  

[3D overlays of NSOM image on topography.  On the left,with resonant polarization the electric field is localized on the metal ridges that act as antennas. On the right, for non-resonant polarization the field is transmitted through the grating gaps.]

Full paper can be found at:  S. Dobmann et al., Advanced Optical Materials, p.7, 2014

Meet the Nanonics staff:  Yirmi Bernstein

Position at Nanonics: Customer Support Team Leader

Educational Background:  Bachelor's and Master's in Physics from Hebrew University

At Nanonics:  Since 2012


 

Favorite part of job:  Troubleshooting and solving problems to maximize use and capabilities of Nanonics systems. It is particularly satisfying for me to give "real-time" online assistance and personally speak with our customers


 

Fun fact:  I volunteer in a first response group