Seeing individual molecules by confining light to the nanoscale
Event details
| Date | 06.11.2015 |
| Hour | 14:15 |
| Speaker |
Prof. Jeremy Baumberg, Cavendish Laboratory, Dept. of Physics, University of Cambridge, UK http://www.np.phy.cam.ac.uk/ http://www.phy.cam.ac.uk/directory/baumbergj |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
How tightly can we confine light? For many years this was thought to be on the order of the optical wavelength, but new insights allow us to squeeze it down to nearly a single cubic nanometre. This opens up a new regime where we can watch single molecules, and sculpt directly on the nanoscale using light. By combining metallic nano-objects at very close distances, we squeeze light into these tiny dimensions at resonant wavelengths whose colour depends exquisitely on the nanoscale geometry. Below 1nm gaps, we detect the influence of quantum mechanics in the optical signatures, at room temperature and ambient conditions. We also show how it is possible to track single molecules, and discuss the implications for nano-chemistry and healthcare technologies.
Practical information
- Expert
- Free
Organizer
- Arnaud Magrez and Raphaël Butté