Superinsa squeezed the light to the nanubrication

Russian and Danish scientists first watched the plasmon nanostle in the experiment. This phenomenon allows you to focus the light on the nano -scale and in theory - bypass one of the fundamental restrictions on the usual collecting lens. A similar seal of light waves is necessary to use them as a signal carrier in compact devices that will work faster than electronics. An article on the results of the work was published in the Optics Letters journal, they are briefly reported in a press release from the Moscow Physics and Technical Institute.

Before the invention of the laser pointer, the heroes of love novels reported their presence, throwing a pebble out the window. One of the disadvantages of the stone as a signal bearer is its mass, due to which sending the message requires effort and time. The mass of the electron is small, but also not equal to zero, so it cannot be instantly set in motion. If instead of electrons the microcircuits were operated on by photons - particles of light, the equipment would work much faster.

Today it is not possible to replace an electron microchip with a photon analogue, because such a device will have huge sizes. Miniaturization will require the control of photons on such a small scale that the light wave will have to be localized in a minimum volume. Ideally, you need to collect light in a spot of less than 50 % wavelength, which cannot be made with a regular lens - this fundamental restriction is called a diffraction limit.

Scientists from Russia and Denmark constructed a focusing element that is able to turn light into a special type of electromagnetic waves with a compression of up to 60 % of the length of the initial radiation and the potential to overcome the diffraction limit. Metalinza, made by a team of metals is a square piece of dielectric in size 5 by 5 micrometers and a thickness of 0.25 micrometer. This particle is placed on a gold film with a thickness of 0.1 micrometer, on the back of which a relief grille is applied.

The laser impulse falling on the gold film is converted into surface plasmons-polyatons-special electromagnetic vibrations that spread in the plane of the metal film and, passing under the square dielectric particle, focus to 60 % of the initial wavelength. The stronger the focusing, the more miniature the technique can be. Designer: Daria Sokol, MIPT press service

When such a laser system is irradiated in the plane of the section between gold and the dielectric, there is indignation in the form of the so-called superficial plasmon-sex. It is a collective oscillation of electrons in metal (plasmon), agreed with the spread over the surface of the light wave (polaritone). The value of this transformation is that the superficial plasmons-polyatons are subwalled focusing, that is, they can be localized more than the laser impulse that gave rise to them.

“One of the subwalled focusing mechanisms is based on the phenomenon of plasmone nanostra, which we managed to record experimentally for the first time,” says Igor Minin, professor of work, professor of the Tomsk Polytechnic University.

Deputy Director of the Institute of Super -Cossack semiconductor electronics of the Russian Academy of Sciences and a leading researcher at the laboratory of two -dimensional materials and nano -uguations of MIFT Dmitry Ponomarev explains the principle of excellent waves in Superins: “We used computer modeling to choose the appropriate sizes of the dielectric particles and the characteristics of the diffraction lattice on gold. As a result, the surface plasmon wave has different phase speeds on the edges and in the center of the dielectric, which is why the wave front is bending and plasmon nanustrus is formed-the high density of plasmons-polyatons. ”

One of the authors of the study, Director of the Center for Photonics and two -dimensional materials of MFTI Valentin Volkov, behind the near -field microscope. A similar tool was used by researchers to first observe the plasmon nanostle. Source: Evgeny Pelevin, Press Service of the MIFT

Thus, you can greatly localize the radiation and manipulate the “compressed light” on the nanotea, and this is a necessary condition for integrating on the chip of photon and plasma devices that will work much faster than their electronic analogues.

The director of the Center for Photonics and two -dimensional materials of MIPTI Valentin Volkov added: “Experimental observation of plasmon jets became possible thanks to the unification of the efforts of the scientists of our center and colleagues from Moscow, Tomsk and Copenhagen. Our cooperation will continue - in the near future we will demonstrate other interesting effects associated with the formation, distribution and use of plasmon jets. ”