Surface plasmons are collective motions of conduction electrons that can create large field enhancements at the surfaces of metal nanostructures.  In this talk, I will discuss measurements at the University of Notre Dame that explore the dephasing of surface plasmons and the subsequent energy relaxation processes.  Single particle experiments were used for these studies, in order to remove averaging effects from the distribution of sizes and shapes present in the samples.  The results from these experiments provide information about how plasmons interact with surface bound molecules, and how the environment affects energy dissipation processes in nanostructures. 

Seminar Speaker

Prof. Gregory Hartland obtained a B. Sc. (Hons.) degree from the University of Melbourne (Australia) in 1985 and a Ph. D. from UCLA in 1991.  After post-doctoral studies in gas phase kinetics at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined the faculty at the University of Notre Dame in 1994, where he is currently a Full Professor.  His work at the University of Notre Dame involves optical studies of the properties of metal nanoparticles, with the goal of elucidating fundamental information about energy relaxation processes.  Prof. Hartland is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American Chemical Society and the Royal Society of Chemistry, and a Senior Editor of the Journal of Physical Chemistry. 

Seminar sponsored by the Department of Electrical Engineering