Tuneable organic plasmonic nanoantennas

Aim: The main objective is to uncover how light interacts with nanostructures made of conducting polymers, whose properties can be modulated after fabrication, and to develop a new type of tuneable organic plasmonic nanoantennas that can dynamically control and shape light at the nanoscale.How: We will determine optical properties (permittivity) of conducting polymers by ellipsometry and use those in optical simulations to design nanoantennas.

Suitable nanoantennas will then be produced using our extensive experience in nanofabrication (e.g. colloidal lithography), and they will be characterized using different spectroscopic techniques.

Complementing the experimental results with calculations and simulations will enable us to reveal the nanooptical behaviour and underlying physics of these redox-tuneable nanostructures.

I (the applicant) will lead the project and guide students and postdocs working in the project.Importance: Dynamic control of light at the nanoscale is one of the ultimate goals in nanooptics, motivated by both a multitude of important applications (e.g. variable metalenses, adaptable camouflage) as well as studies of new physics (e.g. non-reciprocal optics).

Our approach based on organic electrically conducting materials is highly novel, which increases the chances for important discoveries and gives me the opportunity to establish a new field of dynamic organic plasmonics and consolidate my lead therein.