Time and place
Thursday, 27 November, at 13:00, Bldg. 22, Aud. 22
Principal supervisor
Professor Rafael Taboryski, DTU
Co-supervisor
Senior Researcher Shima Kadkhodazadeh
Examiners
Senior Researcher Radu Malureanu, Chair, DTU
Professor Nahid Talebi Sarvari, (Uni-Kiel)
Professor Duncan Stewart Sutherland (Aarhus University)
Chairperson at defence
Associate Professor Ada-Ioana Bunea, DTU
Abstract
Plasmonic metasurfaces are ultra-thin materials patterned with nanoscale structures that can trap and manipulate light in ways not possible with ordinary materials. This PhD thesis presents the complete development of a plasmonic metasurface, spanning numerical simulations, advanced semiconductor nanofabrication, and multi-scale characterization with both optical and electron microscopy. The work demonstrates the fabrication of aluminum-coated nanopillar arrays on ultrathin membranes, designed to be simultaneously accessible to optical probing and electron-based techniques. A central achievement of the thesis is the correlation of a visible plasmonic resonance across three distinct scales: macroscopic optical measurements, nanoscale localization through electron energy-loss spectroscopy, and temporal evolution using ultrafast electron microscopy.
This cross-scale approach provides a unified picture of how plasmonic excitations manifest in space and time, bridging phenomena that are often studied in isolation. In addition, the ultrafast studies revealed that plasmon decay gives rise to a longer-lived dynamic charge field, adding a new dimension to the understanding of plasmon-triggered processes. Together, these results advance the fundamental knowledge of light–matter interactions at the nanoscale and point toward future applications in ultrafast optoelectronics, nanoscale sensing, and next-generation photonic devices.
