Research project

Portfolio Grant - Nano Photonics

Project overview

The new field of NanoPhotonics emerges when we force light to interact with nano-structures, artificial matter engineered and arranged on the scale of only billionths of a meter. Crossing the quantum bridge between nano and photonics produces a remarkable range of new materials and phenomena. NanoPhotonics promises captivating new fundamental physics, and new mind-blowing applications in low power, ultra-small devices performing at the quantum edge in a wide range of technologies, from information processing and telecommunications, to defense, security, medicine andbiotechnologies. Our leading reputation and proven nano-innovation track record, significant critical mass of steady funding, modern infrastructure and research personnel of the highest international calibre, recently created fabrication and test facilities at ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓÆµ, together with our involvement in major European projects and considerable and increasing interest from industry justifies the perfect timing for consolidating NanoPhotonics research in ¾ÅÉ«ÊÓÆµ into a Portfolio Grant.We will focus our research in the following main directions:Nano-Photonics of the Ultra-Small: emission and absorption of light from nanoparticles and nano-structures.Nano-Photonics of the Artificial: man-made meta-materials with 'ultimate' electromagnetic properties only available in artificial structures.Nano-Photonics of the Sensitive: Nanostructures whose optical spectra change radically when a single molecule attaches, or a nanoparticle at its most critically sensitive state undergoes a structural transformation.Nano-Photonics of the Self-organised: light interacting and shaping 2D & 3D nano-structures, light-assisted self assembly and growth of nano-structures, new Nano-Materials.Nano-Photonics of Trapped Light: confining and enhancing light in the smallest possible nano-cavity dimensions, extremely-large controllable interactions between light and matter.Nano-Photonics of the Flat: Nano-patterns that twist the polarisation of light, and new physics of light trapped in flat nano-structures.Nano-Photonics of Complexity: optics of fractals & quasi-periodic structures (such as Penrose tilings).Nano-Photonics of the Quantum: Switching between discrete states of nano-matter, quantum phase transitions and quantum information processing.

Staff

Lead researchers

Professor Nikolay Zheludev

Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Connect with Nikolay

Collaborating research institutes, centres and groups

Research outputs

G.S. Galitonov, S. Birtwell, N.I. Zheludev & H. Morgan, 2006, Optics Express, 14(4), 1382-1387
DOI:
Type: article
K. F. MacDonald, B. F. Soares, M. V. Bashevoy & N. I. Zheludev, 2006, IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, 12(3), 371-376
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Type: article
A.V. Krasavin, A.S. Schwanecke & N.I. Zheludev, 2006, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 8(4), S98-S105
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Type: article
C.E. Finlayson, P.J.A. Sazio, R. Sanchez-Martin, M. Bradley, T. Kelf & J.J. Baumberg, 2006, Semiconductor Science and Technology, 21(3), L21-L24
DOI:
Type: article
V.A. Fedotov, P.L. Mladyonov, S.L. Prosvirnin & N.I. Zheludev, 2005, Physical Review E, 72(5), 056613-[4pp]
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Type: article
S. Takahashi, A. Potts, D. Bagnall, N.I. Zheludev & A.V. Zayats, 2005, Optics Communications, 255(1-3), 91-96
DOI:
Type: article
M.V. Bashevoy, V.A. Fedotov & N.I. Zheludev, 2005, Optics Express, 13(21), 8372-8379
DOI:
Type: article