Media

OTTAWA, April 7, 2010  —  Dr. Pierre Berini and his team including PhD candidate Israel De Leon, from the School of Information Technology and Engineering, have published their study, entitled Amplification of long-range surface plasmons by a dipolar gain medium, in the prestigious scientific journal Nature Photonics.

Professor Berini’s study reports the first direct measurements of mode gain for surface plasmons. Surface plasmons are optical waves that propagate along the surface of a metal stripe (or film). A longstanding limitation to their use and application is the attenuation they suffer as they propagate.

In the study, this limitation has been removed by placing the metal stripe in contact with an optically-pumped dye solution which provides gain to the propagating surface wave. Click here for the on-line version of the article.

Recipient of an NSERC Steacie Fellowship and the University of Ottawa Research Chair in Surface Plasmon Photonics, Pierre Berini has explored some of the most innovative approaches to  communications technology such as using light rather than electrical signals in devices for telecommunications, computing and sensing. Potential applications include efficient components for optical communications and sophisticated biosensors for drug discovery or for detecting harmful pathogens in food and water. Innovations such as these will help people communicate more effectively and provide solutions for the early detection of harmful events.

The University of Ottawa is committed to research excellence and encourages an interdisciplinary approach to knowledge creation, which attracts the best academic talent from across Canada and around the world.