Welcome! We are the research group of Jen Dionne, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. We are a diverse team of materials scientists, electrical engineers, applied physicists, and chemists researching the design and development of new materials that allow light to be controlled in ways previously thought impossible. We then use these materials to directly visualize, probe, and control nanoscale systems and phenomena - particularly those relevant to energy and biology.
We aim to address questions such as: Can optical microscopy achieve a resolution comparable to electron microscopy, to study nanoscale systems in-situ and in real-time? Can sub-bandgap photons be efficiently harvested in solar cells, to improve solar energy conversion efficiencies? Can catalytic processes be probed on the single particle or molecule level, to understand and improve catalytic reactions? And, can proteins or small molecules be optically trapped and manipulated in-vivo, to directly probe molecular mechanics and interactions in cells? Though seemingly diverse, these questions all require precise control of light-matter interactions across wavelength and sub-wavelength scales, as enabled by new optical materials.
Please feel free to navigate this site or contact us for more information!
When material dimensions approach the nanometer-scale, many unusual and exotic optical phenomena arise. In plasmonic and nanocrystalline metamaterials, these phenomena can include negative refraction, electromagnetic cloaking, and even quantum levitation. Research in our group is devoted to developing new solid-state and colloidal metamaterials and investigating their fundamental optical, electrical, and chemical properties. Ongoing projects include research into the electrodynamics of negative index materials, coupled plasmon-quantum dot systems, attractive and repulsive casimir forces, transformation optics, and single-nanoparticle nanophotonics.
Controlling light-matter interactions from classical down to quantum scales motivates applications ranging from solar energy conversion to sub-diffraction-limited microscopy. Currently, the Dionne group is focussed on three applications of plasmonic and nanocrystalline metamaterials: 1) developing efficient photovoltaic and photocatalytic systems for clean energy storage and environmental cleanup; 2) optically sensing and controlling neuronal transmission; and 3) exploring device applications of negative index materials, including sub-diffraction limited lenses and electromagnetic cloaks. All applications rely on the unique ability of plasmons and quantum dots to localize and enhance electromagnetic fields in unprecedented ways.
Latest News
September 20: Jen attends the Materials and Optics Workshop at the University of Oregon, and presents an invited talk on our group's latest research. The science was so engaging, she may almost cheer for the ducks this fall.
September 19: New freshman arrive on campus! Jen introduces them to nano tech with her NSO lecture, "Global Challenges, Nanoscle Solutions." Welcome, freshman!
September 15: Jen presented an invited talk at the Metamaterials Conference in Bordeaux. Thank you, Andrea Alu, for the invitation and for organizing a great conference!
August 30: Our summer intern Kevin presented his summer research on mechanically-tunable metamaterials at Stanford's REU poster session. Congratulations, Kevin!
August 21: Jen gave an invited presentation at the OSA's incubator meeting on quantum plasmonics. Many thanks to the organizers, including Garnett Bryant, Edo Waks, and Joachim Krenn!
August 9: Our high-school teacher intern, Jenny, presented her summer project at the ISMEE gathering. Congratulations, Jenny!
August 6: Sassan's paper is published in Nano Letters Article: "A Metafluid Exhibiting Strong Optical Magnetism"
August 1: Our research is highlighted by Oprah on her "Wow List" Article: "50 things that will make you say 'Wow!'" We're #24, even beating Smitten ice-cream!
July 30: Andre and Tarun presented their research at the DOE SCGF conference, held at SLAC and Lawrence Berkeley National Labs!
July 30: Jen instructed a course on quantum plasmonics at the third Summer School on Plasmonics, held in Cargese, France. Thank you, Nicolas Bonod, for organizing a fantastic week!
July 19: Jen gave an invited talk at Spectra Physics. Thank you, Alan, for the invitation and lab tour!
July 15: Jen instructed a course on plasmonics for medicine at Stanford's Medical Youth Summer Program (SMYSP). Congratulations to all summer high-school students who graduated from SMYSP!
June 30: Diane was selected to attend the 2013 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting on Chemistry! Congratulations, Diane!
June 15: Our broadband metamaterial design is featured on the front page of reddit with nearly
3900 up-votes! One redditor says: "You just made me more excited about a technology I hadn't known about
5 minutes ago, than I've ever been at any technology ever." Congratulations, Ashwin, Aitzol, and Hadiseh, and thanks, Reddit!
Reddit Link
June 10: Aitzo's paper is published in Physical Review B! Article: "Surface-enhanced circular dichroism spectroscopy mediated by nonchiral nanoantennas"
June 5: Jen delivered the inagural Leonardo Art/Science (LASER) talk at Berkeley. Thank you, Piero, for organizing an outstanding gathering!
Leonardo On Line
June 4: Dennis Kwon from Mythbusters gave a presentation on "Mythssion Impossible" to Jen's Science of the Impossible Class. Thanks, Dennis, for an inspiring lecture!
May 10: Jen delivered an invited seminar at Caltech. Thank you, Keith, for the invitation!
April 29: Jen presented an invited talk on upconversion at SPIE DSS in Baltimore. Thank you, Kimberly, for the invitation!
April 19: Jen was selected to deliver the Magicus lecure at Cornell. Thank you Christian and Carol for being such gracious hosts!
April 13: Jen and Andre attended SUPR - Stanford's Photonics Retreat - in beautiful Napa! Thank you, SUPR team, for the invitation to present!
April 12: Jen was invited to deliver the Nano Seminar at Berkeley! Thank you, Avi, for planning my visit!
April 4: The D-Lab takes on MRS SF! Jen gives an invited talk in the quantum plasmonics session, while Michael, Andrea, Jon, and Hadiseh present their work on upconversion, catalysis, PT-symmetric metamaterials, and electron tunneling in plasmonic systems. Congratulations also to poster presenters Ashwin, Diane, Justin, Aitzol, and Sassan!
March 29: Justin's paper is publised in Journal of Applied Physics! Article: "Narrow-bandwidth solar upconversion: Case studies of existing systems and generalized fundamental limits"
March 27: Jen gave an invited talk at Argonne National Lab. Thank you Elena for the invitation and awesome visit!
March 19: Ashwin and Aitzol's paper on design of broadband metamaterials is publised online in Advanced Optical Materials!
Article: "A Broadband Negative Index Metamaterial at Optical Frequencies"
Stanford Engineering Commentary
Featured Research
I. A Metafluid exhibiting strong optical magnetism:
In a just-accepted Nano Letters, Sassan Sheikholeslami, Hadiseh Alaeian, and Ai Leen Koh describe protein-directed synthesis of a metamaterial fluid. The fluid exhibits an emergent magnetic response at visible frequencies, despite being composed of entirely non-magnetic building blocks. Their metafluid could enable new liquid-based tunable refractive index media with positive, negative, and near-zero refractive indices.
II. Surface enhanced circular dichroism spectroscopy:
Circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy is a powerful technique in chemistry, molecular biology, and pharmacology, but it's sensitivity is limited. Chiral specimens exhibit a differential absorption of circularly polarized light that is orders of magnitude smaller than their absorption of unpolarized light. In a recent Physical Review B, Aitzol Garcia-Etxarri theoretically demonstrates how non-chiral nano-antennas can be used to enhance circular dichroism spectroscopy. The key is to use antennas that exhibit both electric and magnetic dipoles. This theory may form the basis for new solution or surface-enhanced CD spectroscopies with few-molecule sensitivity.
III. A broadband negative index metamaterial at optical frequencies:
In the cover article of Advanced Optical Materials, Ashwin Atre, Aitzol Garcia-Etxarri, and Hadiseh Alaeian describe the mathematical design of the most broadband metamaterial to date, characterized by negative indices across hundreds of nanometers in the visible and near-infrared spectrum. Their results illustrate the power of transformation optics for designing new metamaterials and metasurfaces, and provide a foundation for future broadband superlenses, cloaks, or optical isolators.
