The Johns Hopkins University

Whiting School of Engineering

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Metaplasmonics, Nanocircuits with Light, and Wireless Elements at Nanoscales

Seminar By

Nader Engheta

H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor

University of Pennsylvania

Electrical and Systems Engineering

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Abstract:

In recent years, the two fields of metamaterials and plasmonic optics have each seen exciting developments. Owing to some of the fascinating features that are common in both areas, the two fields are merging into a topic that may be called metaplasmonics. In the microwave and optical domains, materials with unconventional constitutive parameter values, such as negative or near-zero, exhibit interesting properties in their interaction with electromagnetic waves. We have been exploring fundamental concepts and various potential applications of metamaterials and plasmonic phenomena, for which these unconventional parameter values can play important roles. I will discuss the concept of “metactronics” and meta-nanocircuits, i.e., “circuits with light at nanoscales”, in which the arrangement of a tapestry of plasmonic and nonplasmonic nanostructures can provide optical circuits in which the optical electric fields can be tailored in subwavelength regions. Indeed, “lumped” nanocircuit elements can be envisioned at the optical wavelengths. (N. Engheta, Science, 317, 1698-1702, 2007). In my research group, a variety of ideas for nanocircuit functions, optical antennas for beam shaping and photonic wireless at nanoscales, optical nanoscopy, nanospectrometer for molecular spectroscopy, cloaking of particles, nanotagging and barcodes based on meta-nanocircuits, and metamaterial-based supercoupling and EM energy squeezing through narrow subwavelength channels are being studied. In this talk, I will give an overview of these studies, present physical remarks behind the findings, and forecast future ideas and potential applications in these areas.

Short Bio:

Nader Engheta is the H. Nedwill Ramsey Professor of Electrical and Systems Engineering, and Professor of Bioengineering, at the University of Pennsylvania. He received his B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, and his M.S and Ph.D. degrees in EE from Caltech. Selected as one of the Scientific American 50 Leaders in Science and Technology in 2006 for developing the concept of optical lumped nanocircuits, he is a Guggenheim Fellow, an IEEE Third Millennium Medalist, IEEE Fellow, Optical Society of America Fellow, and the recipient of the UPenn’s 2008 George H. Heilmeier Award for Excellence in Research, the Fulbright Naples Chair Award, NSF Presidential Young Investigator award, the UPS Foundation Distinguished Educator term Chair, and several teaching awards including the Christian F. and Mary R. Lindback Foundation Award. His current research activities span a broad range of areas including metamaterials and plasmonics, nanooptics and nanophotonics, bio-inspired sensing and imaging, miniaturized antennas and nanoantennas, physics and reverse-engineering of polarization vision in nature, mathematics of fractional operators, and physics of fields and waves phenomena. He has co-edited the book entitled “Metamaterials: Physics and Engineering Explorations” by Wiley-IEEE Press, 2006.

Invited by

Jacob Khurgin

Thursday, February 21, 2008

4:00 p.m.

Barton Hall 117

Refreshments will be served at 3:45 p.m.

FOR DISABILITY INFORMATION

CONTACT: Candace Abel (410) 516-7031 cabel@jhu.edu