Scientists shed light on glowing materials

Researchers at King's College London, in collaboration with European research institutes ICFO (Barcelona) and AMOLF (Amsterdam), have succeeded in mapping how light behaves in complex photonic materials inspired by nature, like iridescent butterfly wings. Scientists have broken the limit of light resolution at the nanoscale and delivered a fundamental insight into how light and matter interact, which could lead to the development of enhanced bio-sensors for healthcare and more efficient solar cells and displays.

Optical measurements of light waves at the nanoscale have always been limited by the resolution of the optical microscope, but researchers were able to break this limit using a new technique which combines electronic excitation and optical detection, to explore the inside of a photonic crystal and study the confinement of light. Working with a spatial resolution of 30 nanometers, scientists examined the structures at a resolution more than ten times smaller than the diffraction limit for light, revealing a greater understanding of how light interacts with matter to create, for example, the visible iridescence phenomena observed in nature on the wings of butterflies.

Dr Riccardo Sapienza, from the Department of Physics at King's, said: 'We were thrilled in the lab to observe the finer details of the photonic crystals that were simply inaccessible before. This is very important as it allows scientists to test optical theories to a new level of accuracy, fully characterise new optical materials and test new optical devices.'

The collaborative research has been published in the journal Nature Materials.

The team constructed an artificial two-dimensional photonic crystal by etching a hexagonal pattern of holes in a very thin silicon nitride membrane. Photonic crystals are nanostructures in which two materials with different refractive indices are arranged in a regular pattern, giving rise to exotic optical properties. Natural photonic crystals can be found in certain species of butterflies, birds and beetles as well as in opal gemstones where they give rise to beautiful shimmering colours.

The photonic crystal inhibits light propagation for certain colours of light, which leads to strong reflection of those colours, as observed when such materials 'catch the light'. By leaving out one hole, a very small cavity can be defined where the surrounding crystal acts as a mirror for the light, making it possible to strongly confine it within a so-called 'crystal defect cavity'.

The scientists based their research methods on a technique used in geology, called cathodoluminescence, whereby a beam of electrons is generated by an electron gun and impacted on a luminescent material, causing the material to emit visible light. Professor Albert Polman and his group in AMOLF modified this technique to access nanophotonics materials. He said: 'In the past few years we have worked hard with several technicians and researchers to develop and refine this new instrument.'

Dr Sapienza said: 'Each time a single electron from the electron gun reaches the sample surface it generates a burst of light as if we had placed a fluorescent molecule at the impact location. Scanning the electron beam we can visualise the optical response of the nanostructure revealing features 10 times smaller than ever done before.'

Professor Niek van Hulst, ICFO, said: 'It is fascinating to finally have an immediate view of the light in all its colours inside a photonic crystal. For years we have been struggling with scanning near-field probes and positioning of nano-light-sources. Now the scanning e-beam provides a local broad-band dipolar light source that readily maps all localised fields inside a photonic crystal cavity.'

With major advances in nanofabrication techniques it has become possible to construct artificial photonic crystals with optical properties that can be accurately engineered. These structures can be used to make high-quality nanoscale optical waveguides and cavities, which are important in telecommunication and sensing applications.

Dr Sapienza said: 'Our research provides a fundamental insight into light at the nanoscale and, in particular, helps in understanding how light and matter interact. This is the key to advance nanophotonic science and it can be useful to design novel optical devices like enhanced bio-sensors for healthcare, more efficient solar cells and displays, or novel quantum optics and information technologies.'

CONTACT

Katherine Barnes
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King's College London
Tel: +44 207 848 3076
Email: katherine.barnes@kcl.ac.uk

AMOLF's full name is FOM Institute AMOLF and it is one of the research laboratories of the Foundation for Fundamental Research on Matter (FOM), part of the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO).

ICFO - the Institut de Ciències Fotòniques - was launched in March 2002 and is an independent, non-profit, permanent research centre established by the Generalitat de Catalunya (Government of Catalonia, Spain), Ministry of Economy and Knowledge and by the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The ICFO's mission is to conduct wide-scope, basic and applied research in several branches of the Sciences and Technologies of Light, at the highest international level.

King's College London is one of the top 30 universities in the world (2011/12 QS international world rankings), and was The Sunday Times 'University of the Year 2010/11', and the fourth oldest in England. A research-led university based in the heart of London, King's has more than 24,000 students (of whom more than 10,000 are graduate students) from nearly 140 countries, and more than 6,100 employees. King's is in the second phase of a £1 billion redevelopment programme which is transforming its estate.

King's has an outstanding reputation for providing world-class teaching and cutting-edge research. In the 2008 Research Assessment Exercise for British universities, 23 departments were ranked in the top quartile of British universities; over half of our academic staff work in departments that are in the top 10 per cent in the UK in their field and can thus be classed as world leading. The College is in the top seven UK universities for research earnings and has an overall annual income of nearly £525 million (year ending 31 July 2011).

King's has a particularly distinguished reputation in the humanities, law, the sciences (including a wide range of health areas such as psychiatry, medicine, nursing and dentistry) and social sciences including international affairs. It has played a major role in many of the advances that have shaped modern life, such as the discovery of the structure of DNA and research that led to the development of radio, television, mobile phones and radar. It is the largest centre for the education of healthcare professionals in Europe; no university has more Medical Research Council Centres.

The College is in the midst of a five-year, £500 million fundraising campaign – World questions|King's answers – created to address some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity as quickly as feasible. The campaign's three priority areas are neuroscience and mental health, leadership and society, and cancer. More information about the campaign is available at www.kcl.ac.uk/kingsanswers.