Nanoscale Temperature Manipulation via Plasmonic Fano Interferences

Project Personnel

David Masiello

Principal Investigator

University of Washington

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Stephan Link

Rice University

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Katherine Willets

Temple University

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Funding Divisions

Division of Chemistry (CHE), Division of Chemical, Bioengineering, Environmental, and Transport Systems (CBET)

Thermal energy, or heat, flows naturally from hot to cold, making it difficult to create localized thermal “hot spots” even when heat is applied to a single spot. As a material’s size is reduced to 10-100s of nanometers, depositing and maintaining thermal energy within a small spatial region becomes even more challenging. Yet controlling heat flow and thus temperature at nanoscopic dimensions has critical importance in data storage, local photochemistry, photothermal disease therapies, and pain management.  Our research focuses on designing a new class of thermal metamaterials capable of controllably directing temperature increases to nanoscale regions of space using light. 

Designing Materials to Revolutionize and Engineer our Future (DMREF)