Light-Nanomaterial Interactions for Energy Efficient Nanophotonic Devices

Light-matter interactions at nanoscale beyond the diffraction limit enable advanced control of electromagnetic waves, including absorption, transmission, and reflection. In addition, light-nanomaterial interaction can be further used to control emission, detection, and amplification, as well as optical magnetization. Recently, it has been demonstrated that light-matter interactions at deep sub-wavelength scale in two-dimensional (2D) materials, such as graphene, transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs), and hexagonal boron nitride (hBN). The interaction of 2D materials with light is fascinating due to the 2D confinement of electrons. Therefore, light-nanomaterial interaction offers a broad range of applications in various areas including sensing, imaging, renewable energy harvesting, optical data storage, and optical communication, which is the technology revolution in the 21st century affecting our lives in medical, health, energy consumption, and communication.

This Research Topic will focus on the cutting-edge advances in research of light-matter -interaction with different types of nanostructures and nanomaterials: metallic (plasmonic), dielectric and semiconductor, 2D materials. Magnetic nanomaterials are also considered to achieve functional nanophotonic and optoelectronic devices, such as photodetectors, sensors, modulators, metamaterials, metasurfaces, polarizers, lenses, Opto-magnetic memories, and electromagnetic absorbers, for the manipulation of the amplitude, phase, and polarization of electromagnetic waves. Meanwhile, the Research Topic will cover the applications of functional devices in energy-related applications, such as photovoltaic, photothermal manipulation, solar-thermal conversion, solar water desalination, solar hydrogen generation, efficient renewable energy storage, as well as radiative cooling.  

The aim of the current Research Topic is to cover promising, recent, and novel research trends in the nanophotonics, plasmonics, 2D materials, and energy-related fields. Areas to be covered in this Research Topic may include, but are not limited to:

· Development of functional nanophotonic and plasmonic devices

· Applications of the nanophotonic and plasmonic structures in energy-related field

· Photonic and optoelectronic devices based on 2D materials

· Opto-magnetization for data storage

· Metamaterials and metasurfaces

· Mid-infrared (MIR) optical elements

· Terahertz (THz) photonic devices  

· Electromagnetic absorbers

· Radiative cooling