Welcome! We are the research group of Jen Dionne, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering at Stanford University. Our research investigates metamaterials, including their fundamental electrodynamic properties and applications to solar energy and bioimaging. We are especially interested in designing new materials with optical and electrical properties not accessible in nature and applying those materials to problems of global significance. Our lab specializes in visible-frequency negative index materials, active metamaterials, and colloidal-nanocrystal 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
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
March 19: Jen presented an invited talk at Meta 2013 in Dubai.
March 4-9: Jen presented invited talks the US Government-sponsored workshop on Metamaterials and at UCSB (Electrical Engineering).
February 18: Jen presented an invited talk on the upconversion work of Ashwin, Justin, Michael, and Diane at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy in Freiburg, Germany. Thanks to Prof. J.C. Goldschmidt for organizing the workshop!
February 1: Jen gave an invited talk featuring Sassan, Hadiseh, and Aitzol's work on "optical frequency magnetism" at SLAC.
January 15: Welcome to new D-Lab members, Andre Esteva and Tarun Narayan!
January 10: Jen gave seminars at UT Austin and the University of Washington. Thanks to the organizers for very fun visits!
January 1-7: Jen presented the opening invited talk in the Quantum Plasmonics Session at NanoMeta, featuring Jon, Aitzol, and Ai Leen's recent Nano Letters paper.
December 17: Jon's paper is accepted to Nano Letters! Congratulations Jon, and co-authors Aitzol and Ai Leen!
Article: "Observation of Quantum Tunneling between Two Plasmonic
Nanoparticles"
Nature Materials Research Highlight: "Quantum Jumps"
December 12: Congratulations to Michael Wisser, our group's newest Ph.D. Candidate!
December 10: Justin and Jen both present at the Workshop on Nanophotonics in Trieste, Italy!
December 7: Jen presented an invited talk at Univ. Michigan. Thanks, Prof. Boukai for the invitation!
November 7: Jen presented an invited seminar at LBL's Molecular Foundry.
October 15: Amr's paper is accepted to Nano Letters!
Article: "Toward efficient optical trapping of sub-10-nm particles with coaxial plasmonic apertures"
Stanford Engineering Commentary
October 1: Jen presented the colloquium talk at FOM-Institute AMOLF on "Quantum Plasmons and Magnetic Metafluids."
September 30: The D-Lab heads to Amsterdam to work with Prof. Albert Polman's group. Thank you, Albert!
September 20: Jen delivered an invited talk to engineering freshman at New Student Orientation on "Global Challenges, Nanoscale Solutions." Welcome, freshman!!
September 17-19: The D-Lab's first annual bootcamp is on! Thanks to the entire D-team for making the camp a success!
September 12: Jen was invited to participate in the National Academy of Engineering Frontiers of Engineering Symposium!
September 10: The Dionne group is awarded a LDRD Proposal from SLAC to investigate "Single Particle Plasmon Catalysis." Thank you, SLAC and DOE!
August 19: The MRS Bulletin on Plasmonics is out! Congratulations to Brian for making the cover, and thanks to co-editor Harry Atwater!
"Plasmonics: Metal-worthy methods and materials in nanophotonics"
August 9: Jen presented invited talks at the NanoPV workshop at CU Boulder, and at SPIE in San Diego.
August 4: Jen participated in Scifoo. Thank you, O'Reilly, Google, and Nature for the invitation and awesome weekend!
July 21: Diane, Jon, Amr, Justin host a booth at Stanford's EDay, while Jen delivers a class on "Light, Nano, Action!
July 13: The D-Lab conquers Old La Honda and Tunitas Creek on a bike ride to the ocean, fueled by Bucks.
June 21: Jen presented an invited talk at the Noble Metal Nanoparticles Gordon conference!
June 19: Hadiseh's paper is accepted in Optics Express! Article: "Plasmon nanoparticle superlattices as optical-frequency magnetic metamaterials"
June 14: Justin and Diane presented a poster on upconversion at the DOE SunShot Summit in Colorado!
June 10: Ashwin will present an invited talk at the Gordon Research Symposium of the Plasmonics GRC!!
May 15: Jen presented an invited talk at the Triservice Metamaterials Review.
April 26: Congratualtions to Justin on receiving a 2012 DOE SCGF fellowship!!
April 21: Congratualtions to 2012 NSF fellowship recipients Brian, Diane, and Justin!!
April 21: Jen served as a mentor for Bay Area students at She++, the first annual conference for women in technology. Congratulations to all the amazing Stanford students who organized the event!
April 19: Jen receives the Outstanding Young Alum award from her undergraduate alma mater, Washington University in St. Louis!
April 17: Jen presented an invited talk at the SPIE conference in Brussles!
April 10: With Dr. Luke Sweatlock and Dr. Jao van de Lagemaat, Jen helped organize the "Plasmonic Materials & Metamaterials" Symposium of MRS.
April 8: Jen presented an invited talk at the Frontiers of Plasmonics conference in Chengdu, China.
March 22: Jon's paper is published as the cover article in Nature!
Article: "Quantum plasmon resonances of individual metallic nanoparticles"
News & Views: "Plasmons go Quantum"
Commentary: "Plasmons resonate in atomic-scale metal particles"
March 16: The Dionne Group holds its official Lab-Warming Party! Thanks to Alan from Princeton Instruments for generously funding the event!
Featured Research
I. 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.
II. Realistic Solar Upconversion:
In a new Journal of Applied Physics paper, Justin Briggs and Ashwin Atre develop a thermodynamic model of an upconverting solar cell considering a highly realistic narrow-band, non-unity-quantum-yield upconverter. Their calculations and case studies provide a framework optimizing future solar upconverter designs.
III. Electron tunneling between two plasmonic nanoparticles:
In a recently published Nano Letters article, Jon Scholl, Aitzol Garcia-Etxarri, and Ai Leen Koh have observed how electron tunneling between two metallic nanoparticles impacts their plasmonic modes. The technique relied on in-situ imaging, manipulation, and spectroscopy of particles in Stanford's abberation-corrected transmission electron microscope.
IV. Optical trapping of sub-10-nm particles:
In a just accepted Nano Letters publication, Amr Saleh has extended optical trapping to a deeply subwavelength regime. While conventional optical traps are limited by diffraction, Amr has exploited the properties of surface plasmons to trap significantly smaller specimens. His theoretical work provides the foundation for trapping and manipulation of single proteins and small molecules.
V. Nanoparticle superlattice metamaterials:
Calculations by Hadiseh Alaeian demonstrate that lattices of Au nanoparticles can exhibit emergent optical properties distinct from the constituent particles, including optical-frequency magnetism. Her results could form th basis for new, bottom-up assembled metamaterials. Her results were published in the July 2 issue of Optics Express.
VI. Quantum Plasmons:
Jon Scholl and Ai Leen Koh demonstrate that metal nanoparticles with dimensions between one and ten nanometers exhibit plasmon resonances governed by quantum mechanical effects, as probed with electron microscopy and spectroscopy. Their results appear as the cover Article in the March 22 edition of Nature.
VII. Nanowire Solar Metamaterials:
Recent calculations by Hadiseh Alaeian determine the ideal nanowire dimensions and lattice configuration for optimal photovoltaic conversion. Her results were published as an invited article in the Journal of Optics on January 12.
