Nanooptics and Nanophotonics News

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Plasmonic Photocathodes Show Promise to Manipulate Light Fields on NanoScale

Free electron lasers (FELs) have proven their worth, but next-generation light sources will have to do better than produce ultrabright x-ray pulses 100 or so times a second. What’s needed is megahertz rep rate, a million times a second. Since it’s electrons that make the x-rays, the only way to achieve that kind of performance is with an electron gun that can deliver tight electron bunches with high charge, high energy, and a very high repetition rate – sources like Berkeley Lab’s futuristic APEX, for which Howard Padmore of the Advanced Light Source (ALS) and his colleagues are designing the photocathodes.

From Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory 16 Feb 2013

University at Buffalo Engineers Create Hyperbolic Metamaterial Waveguide

University at Buffalo engineers have created a more efficient way to catch rainbows, an advancement in photonics that could lead to technological breakthroughs in solar energy, stealth technology and other areas of research.

16 Feb 2013

Colorado State University Receives Electron Accelerator from University of Twente

The University of Twente in the Netherlands has donated a linear accelerator and peripheral materialsto Colorado State University to help enhance ongoing research collaborations with Professors Sandra Biedron and Stephen Milton in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The accelerator arrived on campus in January.

16 Feb 2013

Researchers Develop Ultra-Sensitive Plasmon Resonance Sensor

Utilizing optical characteristics first demonstrated by the ancient Romans, researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have created a novel, ultra-sensitive tool for chemical, DNA, and protein analysis.

From University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign 15 Feb 2013

Nanobeam Probe Helps Study Inside Cells

Stanford nanoscale laser/LED marks a new age in the study and influence of living cells

14 Feb 2013

Receptor-Free Nanomechanical Infrared Spectroscopy Improves Chemical Detection

Ever wonder how sometimes people still get through security with explosives on their person? Research done in the University of Alberta's Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering has revealed a new way to better detect these molecules associated with explosive mixtures.

13 Feb 2013

Hard X-ray Nanoprobe Helps Unravel Paints Used in Picasso’s Masterpieces

The Art Institute of Chicago teamed up with Argonne National Laboratory to unravel a decades-long debate among art scholars about what kind of paint Picasso used to create his masterpieces.

8 Feb 2013

Novel Nanostructure Filters Visible Light into Plasmonic Halos

Using the geometric and material properties of a unique nanostructure, Boston College researchers have uncovered a novel photonic effect where surface plasmons interact with light to form "plasmonic halos" of selectable output color. The findings appear in the journal Nano Letters.

8 Feb 2013

Light Funneling Using Nanoscale Metallic Grooves

Iridescence, or sheen that shifts color depending on your viewing angle, is pretty in peacock feathers. But it's been a nuisance for engineers trying to mimic the birds' unique color mechanism to make high-resolution, reflective, color display screens.

6 Feb 2013

One-Atom-Thick Triangular Structures Show Promise for Optical Applications

For the first time, scientists have created single layers of a naturally occurring rare mineral called tungstenite, or WS2. The resulting sheet of stacked sulfur and tungsten atoms forms a honeycomb pattern of triangles that have been shown to have unusual light-emitting, or photoluminescent, properties.

6 Feb 2013