Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026
10:52
Direct Imaging of Laser-driven Ultrafast Molecular Rotation
Published on: February 4, 2017
10.2K
Directional light beams by design from electrically driven elliptical slit antennas
Shuiyan Cao1, Eric Le Moal1, Quanbo Jiang2
1Institut des Sciences Moléculaires d'Orsay (ISMO), CNRS, Univ Paris Sud, Université Paris-Saclay, F-91405 Orsay, France.
Beilstein Journal of Nanotechnology
|September 27, 2018
Summary
We demonstrate low-energy light beam generation using elliptical microstructures and surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs). The emission direction is controlled by the microstructure
Area of Science:
- Plasmonics and Nanophotonics
- Optoelectronics
Background:
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) enable light manipulation at the nanoscale.
- Electrical generation of light offers potential for miniaturized optical devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To report on the low-energy, electrical generation of directional light beams.
- To investigate the use of planar elliptical microstructures as optical antennas.
- To demonstrate control over beam emission direction via microstructure geometry.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of planar elliptical microstructures (elliptical slits in gold films).
- Electrical generation of SPPs using inelastic electron tunneling with a scanning tunneling microscope (STM).
- Characterization of light emission from the elliptical structures.
Main Results:
- Successful generation of light beams from elliptical microstructures.
- Demonstrated control of emission direction based on ellipse eccentricity.
- Utilized a simple, broadband optical antenna design.
Conclusions:
- Elliptical microstructures can act as efficient optical antennas for directional light emission.
- Electrical SPP excitation provides a pathway for low-energy, on-demand light generation.
- This approach offers a simple method for creating tunable nanoscale light sources.
Related Concept Videos
01:23Design of Prismatic Beams for Bending
632
The design of prismatic beams, structural elements with a uniform cross-section, focuses on ensuring safety and structural integrity under load. The design process begins by determining the allowable stress, either from material properties tables, or by dividing the material's ultimate strength by a safety factor. This safety factor is essential for accommodating uncertainties, and varies depending on the material—timber, steel, or concrete—with each having unique strength and...
632
01:15The Antenna Complex
8.0K
Plants and other photosynthetic organisms comprise pigments capable of absorption of direct sunlight. These pigments are present in the reaction center - the main site of photochemical reactions as well as in the antenna complex. Under average light conditions, the rate at which reaction center pigments absorb light is far below the electron transport chain's capacity. As a result, the reaction center alone cannot provide enough energy to drive photosynthesis. The photosynthetic efficiency can...
8.0K
01:30Beams
1.9K
Beams are integral components of structural engineering and construction, designed to support loads applied at various points along their length. These long, straight members can be classified based on geometry, cross-section, support type, and equilibrium condition.
Based on geometry, beams can be straight, tapered, or curved. Straight beams are the most common type and have a constant cross-section throughout their length. Tapered beams, on the other hand, have a varying cross-section along...
Based on geometry, beams can be straight, tapered, or curved. Straight beams are the most common type and have a constant cross-section throughout their length. Tapered beams, on the other hand, have a varying cross-section along...
1.9K
02:01Group Design
10.5K
The most basic experimental design involves two groups: the experimental group and the control group. The two groups are designed to be the same except for one difference— experimental manipulation. The experimental group gets the experimental manipulation—that is, the treatment or variable being tested—and the control group does not. Since experimental manipulation is the only difference between the experimental and control groups, we can be sure that any differences between...
10.5K
01:19Deflection of a Beam
732
Accurately determining beam deflection and slope under various loading conditions in structural engineering is crucial for ensuring safety and structural integrity. Singularity functions offer a streamlined approach to analyzing beams, especially when multiple loading functions complicate the bending moment equation.
Singularity functions, described in an earlier lesson, are powerful mathematical tools that represent discontinuities within a function commonly encountered in structural loading...
Singularity functions, described in an earlier lesson, are powerful mathematical tools that represent discontinuities within a function commonly encountered in structural loading...
732
02:12The Wave Nature of Light
61.4K
The nature of light has been a subject of inquiry since antiquity. In the seventeenth century, Isaac Newton performed experiments with lenses and prisms and was able to demonstrate that white light consists of the individual colors of the rainbow combined together. Newton explained his optics findings in terms of a "corpuscular" view of light, in which light was composed of streams of extremely tiny particles traveling at high speeds according to Newton's laws of motion.
61.4K