Research Seminars @ Illinois

Controlling the properties of light has been the cornerstone of diverse scientific advances spanning gravitational wave detection to long-range telecommunication to artificial photosynthesis. At visible wavelengths, nanoscale structures and quantum materials are needed to confine and manipulate light, both passively and actively. This talk will describe light-matter interactions mediated by optical nanocavities based on plasmonic nanoparticle lattices. First, we will discuss how different global and local symmetries of the plasmonic lattices can produce distinct short-range and long-range electromagnetic modes, and even chiral optical responses. Second, we will describe nanoscale lasing as an example of light emission in the weak-coupling regime. Third, we will examine the formation and tuning of exciton-polaritons when plasmonic cavities are strongly coupled to colloidal semiconducting nanocrystals. Finally, we will discuss the prospects and applications of generating coherent chiral light.