Light-Matter Interaction: from Weak to Strong

A broad scope of physical phenomena is pertinent to control of light-matter interactions with metamaterials and simpler metal/dielectric structures. Recent theoretical [1] and experimental efforts have shown that hyperbolic metamaterials can control the rate [2,3], the directionality [4] and the spectra [5] of spontaneous emission. This concept has been later extended to include (i) the effect of lamellar metamaterials on stimulated emission [6], (ii) the effect of the fishnet structure on electric dipole and magnetic dipole spontaneous emission of Eu3+ ions [7], and (iii) Forster energy transfer [8]. The latter phenomenon reportedly occurs in the regime of weak coupling of light and matter. An even more efficient control of light-matter interaction is possible in the regime of strong coupling of e.g. excitons and surface plasmons and nanocavities. As the first step in this direction, we have demonstrated that excited molecules couple with surface plasmon polaritons differently than the ground state molecules do. In another particular experiment, we show that coupling of localized plasmons with dye molecules results in rich Fano resonance structure. Arguably, the most dramatic effect of strong coupling on the spectra, quantum yield and directionality of spontaneous emission is found in cavities with optimized resonance frequency. These and other light-matter interaction effects will be discussed at the seminar.
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[2] M. A. Noginov, H. Li, Yu. A. Barnakov, D. Dryden, G. Nataraj, G. Zhu, C. E. Bonner, M. Mayy, Z. Jacob, E. E. Narimanov, Opt. Lett. 35, 1863-1865 (2010).
[3] T. Tumkur, G. Zhu, P. Black, Yu. A. Barnakov, C. E. Bonner, and M. A. Noginov, Appl. Phys. Lett. 99, 151115 (2011).
[4] L. Gu, J. E. Livenere, G. Zhu, T. U. Tumkur, H. Hu, C. L. Cortes, Z. Jacob, S. M. Prokes, M. A. Noginov, Scientific Reports 4, 7327 (2014).
[5] Lei Gu, T. U. Tumkur, G. Zhu, M. A. Noginov, Scientific Reports 4, 4969 (2014).
[6] J. K. Kitur, L. Gu, T. Tumkur, C. Bonner, and M. A. Noginov, "Stimulated emission of surface plasmons on top of metamaterials with hyperbolic dispersion", ACS Photonics, 2, 1019-1024 (2015).
[7] R. Hussain, S. S. Kruk, C. E. Bonner, M. A. Noginov, I. Staude, Y. S. Kivshar, N. Noginova, D. N. Neshev, Opt. Lett. 40, 1659-1662 (2015).
[8] T. U. Tumkur, J. K. Kitur, C. E. Bonner, A. N. Poddubny, E. E. Narimanov and M. A. Noginov, Faraday Discussions 178, 395-412 (2015).
[9] T. U. Tumkur, G. Zhu, M. A. Noginov, accepted for publication in Optics Express.