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

M. Woodford, K. F. MacDonald, G. C. Stevens & N. I. Zheludev, 2005, Optics Communications, 254(4-6), 340-343
DOI:
Type: article
A.D. Boardman, K. Marinov, N. Zheludev & V.A. Fedotov, 2005, Physical Review E, 72, 036603-[6pp]
DOI:
Type: article
B. F. Soares, K. M. MacDonald, V. A. Fedotov & N. I. Zheludev, 2005, Nano Letters, 5(10), 2104-2107
DOI:
Type: article
C.E. Finlayson, A. Amezcua, P.J.A. Sazio, P.S. Walker, M.C. Grossel, R.J. Curry, D.C. Smith & J.J. Baumberg, 2005, Journal of Modern Optics, 52(7), 955-964
DOI:
Type: article
L. Dyadyusha, H. Yin, S. Jaiswal, T. Brown, J.J. Baumberg, F.P. Booy & T. Melvin, 2005, Chemical Communications, 25, 3201-3203
DOI:
Type: article
N.I. Zheludev & V. Shalaev, 2005, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 7(2), S1
DOI:
Type: letterEditorial
V. A. Fedotov, K. F. MacDonald & N. I. Zheludev, 2005, Journal of Optics A: Pure and Applied Optics, 7(2), S241-S243
DOI:
Type: article