Past events

Plasmons in nano-graphene and other atomic scale systems

Prof Javier Garcia de Abajo, ICFO - The Institute of Photonic Sciences

Abstract

We will review recent advances in the control and understanding of plasmons in systems that have atomic dimensions along one or more directions. In particular, we will discuss plasmons in graphene, carbon nanotubes, and fullerenes, as well as thin metal layers and molecules such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. A simple, powerful, analytical eigenmode expansion formalism will be reviewed in the electrostatic limit, along with tutorial examples of application to the understanding of plasmons in these systems, including the derivation of approximate expressions for the plasmon frequencies and wave functions. Intrinsic advantages of plasmons in atomic-scale systems will be also discussed, and in particular, their large electrical tunability, their strong nonlinear response, and the possibility of reaching quantum strong coupling.

Short bio

Prof. Javier García de Abajo is an ICREA Research Professor and head of the Nanophotonics Theory Group at ICFO-The Institute of Photonic Sciences. His interests and expertise lie in the theory of new physical phenomena associated with interactions between light and nanostructured materials, electron-microscope-based spectroscopy techniques, and exotic quantum and classical phenomena involving the optical response of nanostructures.