Optical Properties of Semicontinuous Metal-Dielectric Films

Contacts:

Alexandra Boltasseva, DTU Fotonik, 4525-6368 (albo@fotonik.dtu.dk)

SEM pictures of semi-continuous metallic layers with different filling fractions

Semicontinuous metal films (SMFs) have been studied for several decades due to their unique optical properties. The optical properties of these metal–dielectric composites are governed by surface plasmon resonances (SPRs), which are the collective oscillations of conduction electrons in a metal structure under incident light. Plasmonic nanostructures act like optical nanoantennas, accumulating and building up electromagnetic energy in nanometer-scale. This energy buildup results in high local fields and thus can produce a dramatic enhancement of optical responses. Materials supporting SPRs can be used for applications such as surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), data recording, absorption elements in solar cells and subwavelength imaging.

The optical properties of semicontinuous metal-dielectric films will be studied in the project aiming at finding new composite materials for use in optical filters, plasmonic devices and novel metamaterials applications.