Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Date

2024

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Department

Physics

Committee Chair

Thang Hoang

Committee Member

Sanjay R Mishra

Committee Member

Shawn D Pollard

Committee Member

Ranganathan Gopalakrishnan

Abstract

The progression of materials science has led us down a path of rich discovery in the realm of nanophotonics. Recent strides in metamaterials and plasmonics research have allowed for an unprecedented control of light-matter interactions beyond the diffraction limit of visible light. Currently, there is a great push to improve the ability and flexibility of metamaterials and nanophotonic structures to manipulate and amplify electromagnetic waves. Researchers are seeking to find efficient, scalable and cost-effective methods to produce these materials with a broad range of tunability. In these efforts, the scope of optics research has naturally begun to shift from the linear to the nonlinear regime, due to the fact that nonlinear optical phenomena inherently offer unique ways for manipulating the intensity, phase, frequency and polarization of light. Nonlinear optical materials allow for many effects such as harmonic generation and four-wave mixing that are not possible in the linear regime. These phenomena lead to the development of all-optical switching and other mechanisms which will give rise to the next generation of advanced devices. By bolstering optical phenomena in nonlinear materials with the electromagnetic field localization offered by plasmonic metamaterials, we can achieve an even greater level of control with light-matter interactions. The aim of this dissertation is to further develop our understanding of light-matter control in both the linear and nonlinear regimes through the investigation of such optical phenomena within several novel nanoscale structures and metamaterials. Primarily, I will focus on the characterization and investigation of various novel nanomaterials, the linear photonic decay and lasing emission enhancements offered by plasmonic nanohole arrays, the nonlinear strong coupling and second harmonic generation enhancement offered by plasmonic nanopatch antennas, and the nonlinear polarization-dependent emission of chiral metastructures.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to ProQuest.

Notes

Open Access

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