Nanophotonics Symposium

Rashid Zia, Brown University

Guided Polariton Optics: A Dielectric View of Metal Optics

Abstract:

Metals possess unique optical properties distinct from the dielectric materials used today for integrated optics.  The promise of “metal optics” is that these properties may one day be exploited to manipulate light at smaller length scales than feasible with dielectric structures.  In this context, surface plasmon-polaritons (SPPs) have received considerable attention for their ability to guide electromagnetic energy at optical frequencies.  Unlike dielectric waveguides which confine electromagnetic waves to an optically dense core via index contrast, these surface electromagnetic waves are localized to charge density oscillations along metal-dielectric interfaces.

In recent years, much progress has been made by examining the differences between the confinement provided by conventional dielectric waveguides and plasmonic waveguides.  It has even been suggested that SPPs may be used to circumvent the diffraction limit for optical waveguides.  Here, we present a series of computational and experimental studies directed at the similarities between dielectric and plasmonic waveguides.  Specifically, we highlight a physical interpretation for guided polariton optics that is consistent with conventional guided wave optics.

References

1. R. Zia and M.L. Brongersma, "Surface Wave Analogy to Young’s Double Slit Experiment", (in review).

2. R. Zia, J.A. Schuller, and M.L. Brongersma. Phys. Rev. B, v. 72, p. 165415, 2006.

3. R. Zia, A. Chandran, and M.L. Brongersma. Opt. Lett., v. 30, p. 1473, 2005.

4. R. Zia, M.D. Selker, and M.L. Brongersma. Phys. Rev. B, v. 71, p. 165431, 2005.

5. R. Zia, M.D. Selker, P.B. Catrysse, and M.L. Brongersma, J. Opt. Soc. Amer. A, v. 21, p. 2442, 2004.

Biography

Rashid Zia is an Assistant Professor in the Division of Engineering at Brown University.  In 2001, Rashid graduated from Brown University with a combined A.B. in English and American Literature and Sc.B. in Engineering.  He then went on to receive both his M.S. and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, where he was the first graduate student in the laboratory of Professor Mark L. Brongersma.  His thesis focused on the physics of surface plasmon-polariton waveguides, and a review of his doctoral research on guided polariton optics is featured as the cover story in a recent issue of Materials Today (July/August 2006).  Following his graduate studies, Rashid spent six months in the Laboratoire de Physique at the Universite de Bourgogne (Dijon, France) before returning to start the Laboratory for Subwavelength Optics at Brown Universtity.

Rashid is the recipient of a National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship, a Stanford Graduate Fellow, and a Tau Beta Pi Fellow as well as the Dominco A. Ionata Premium Award from Brown University.  He is a also member of the America Physical Society, the Materials Research Society and the Optical Society of America as well as Phi Beta Kappa, Sigma Xi, and Tau Beta Pi.

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