In the current information age, the ever increasing need for reliable, high speed, high data-rate information transport is undeniable. A new class of photonic devices, known as plasmonic nanocircuits, may provide an opportunity to propagate and manipulate information at the nanoscale, complementing functionality that is obtained in conventional photonic and electronic devices. In such circuits light is guided by and manipulated in 1-and 2-dimensional metallic nanostructures below the diffraction limit. For the successful realization of these nanocircuits, our group will to build a setup with which the flow of light can be studied at any location in the circuit. The application of this technique is not limited to plasmonic nanocircuits but can be applied to a variety of conventional photonic devices. The development of this technique will therefore give essential guidance to the designers and process engineers who will make the photonic device structures of the future. The technique also provides new ways to perform highly sensitive, non-destructive materials characterization and spectroscopy with subwavelength spatial resolution on metal films. This would significantly expand the capability of conventional optical microscopy.
In synergy with this research component, this proposal will enable a substantial educational and outreach program. Education and research will be integrated by (1) providing my students (undergraduate, masters, and graduate) with exciting and valuable research opportunities at Stanford and in Industry in a rapidly developing new research field, (2) starting a new secondary-school outreach program to help young students start a career in science and technology, (3) trying to attract underrepresented minority students (particularly African Americans, American Indians, Hispanic Americans as well as others who add diversity to Stanford's School of Engineering) to work in my research group through the Engineering Diversity Program at Stanford, (4) feed new research results back into two courses that I am currently developing.
