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 optical interactions, as enabled by new optical materials.
Please feel free to navigate this site or contact us for more information!
What is a typical day like for a researcher in our group? Check out our videos to learn more about our science and our culture. If you like what you see and want to join our team, please send us your resume. We're always on the lookout for smart, creative people.
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| Group Video, June 2015 | Russian River Canoe Trip, July 2014 |
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| Upconversion | Nanoscale optical tomography |
Latest News
February 10: Congratulations to Shing-Shing and Fariah on their two latest publications, in Nature Communications and ACS Photonics!
January 19: Michael Wisser defends his PhD! Congratulations, soon-to-be Dr. Wisser!
December 15: Justin Briggs and Brian Baum both successfully defend their theses! Congratulations, soon-to-be doctors!
December 8: The D-Lab is featured on the Nanovation podcast. Thanks, Mike Filler for hosting us!!
November 27: Yang attends fall MRS and gives an invited talk on the D-Lab's work to enhance enantioselective optical forces.
October 19: Jen and Miriam are awarded a BioX seed grant. The press release is here. Let the worm-feeding feast begin! 
September 26: Welcome to the newest D-Lab member, Hugo Vinh Dionne Vu, 7lbs, 9oz.
September 22: Jen welcomes new freshman to campus during NSO week, presenting a plenary lecture during the "Engaging with Faculty" series.
September 20: Jen presents the D-Lab's work on upconversion at LBL. Thanks, Bruce Cohen for hosting a terrific visit to the hill!
August 29: The D-Lab hits Dan Diego as part of SPIE. Jen, Brian, Michael, Alice, and Alex all present their work and get a tour of BioLegend from the founder and CEO. Thanks, Gene for hosting us!
August 15: Jen presents an invited talk at ISSPIC XVIII in Finland! Thank you, Hannu Hakkinen for the invitation.
August 15: Jen and collaborators are funded by NSF's EFRI NEW-Law, a new center led by Lan Yang at WashU in St. Louis!
July 22: Jen attends SciFoo at the GooglePlex. Thanks to Nature, Digital Media, and O'Rielly for co-hosting a great weekend, where Jen, Chris Schuh, and Polina Anikeeva shared "Why materials matter."
July 11: Andrea, Guru, Shing-Shing and Jen attend the plasmonics GRC. Jen presents on the group's use on in-situ TEM and EELS to visualize ion intercalation thermodynamics, and is also elected as vice-chair of the next plasmonics Gordon!
June 26: Jen taught a class on nanomaterials for medical applications to Stanford Medical Youth Science Program (SYMSP) participants
Featured Research
I. Upconverting nanoparticles as color-changing force sensors:
Alice and co-authors have developed upconverting force sensors with sub-25 nm size, nano- to micro-Newton sensitivity, and photostable color readout. These nanoparticles host crystal field sensitive d-metal ions (Mn2+), which energetically couple to the upconverting lanthanide ions (Yb3+,Er3+). Under external stress, the coupling is tuned, yielding a change from orange to red for cubic-phase nanoparticles or yellow-green to green for hexagonal-phase nanoparticles. This work is now published online in Nano Letters!
II. Light-mediated enantioselective separation:
Shing-Shing has developed an optical technique to separate enantiomers, utilizing nanoparticles supporting optical-frequency magnetic resonances. Her computational approach indicates that nanoparticles can increase enantiomeric excesses 7 times beyond circularly polarized light alone, providing a route toward cost-effective separations in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries. This work is now available in the latest issue of ACS Photonics!
III. Visualizing ion-intercalation dynamics:
Tarun and Fariah have developed methods to visualize ion intercalation dynamics in real time with near atomic-scale resolution. Using intercalation of hydrogen into Pd nanocubes as a model system, they have shown how ions enter from the corners, then propagate as a linear phase front across the particle. Their work is published in Nature Communications!
