Development of an Electrodynamic Simulation Toolbox for Nanophotonics

Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) simulations allow researchers to model complex devices and systems based on integrated micro/nano structures. The electrodynamic behaviour predicted by FDTD simulations match very well with the real physical systems, which significantly accelerates the development of novel devices. However, there are limitations in existing FDTD techniques to model metal nanoparticles on sub-100 nm length- scales, which are of great interest to research and industry. Due to the surface scattering properties in such nanoscale elements, the permittivity of bulk materials is no longer accurate and thus has to be modified according to the particle shape, size and crystallinity. To overcome this limit, this proposal describes a project to develop, in collaboration with Lumerical Solutions Inc., an FDTD toolbox that calculates a geometry-based permittivity, prior to starting FDTD simulations, in order to accurately model the optical properties of metal nanoparticles. The developed modeling capability will be validated with spectroscopy experiments.

Faculty Supervisor:

Reuven Gordon

Student:

Partner:

University of Victoria

Discipline:

Engineering

Sector:

Education

University:

University of Victoria

Program: