Self-assembling
nanocubes for next generation antennas and lenses
(June 14, 2012) Researchers at the University of California, San Diego
Jacobs School of Engineering have developed a technique that enables metallic
nanocrystals to self-assemble into larger, complex materials for
next-generation antennas and lenses. The metal nanocrystals are cube-shaped
and, like bricks or Tetris blocks, spontaneously organize themselves into
larger-scale structures with precise orientations relative to one another. Their findings were published online June 10
in the journal Nature Nanotechnology.
This
research is in the new field of nanoplasmonics, where researchers are
developing materials that can manipulate light using structures that are
smaller than the wavelength of light itself. The nanocubes used in this study
were less than 0.1 microns; by comparison, the breadth of a human hair is 100
microns. Precise orientation is necessary so that the cubes can confine light
(for a nanoscale antenna) or focus light (for a nanoscale lens) at different
wavelengths.