Plasmonics is a new technology that uses surface plasmons to enable faster data transfer. Surface plasmons are oscillations of electrons that can couple with electromagnetic waves. This allows data to be transported using light at the nanoscale. Plasmonics could bridge electronics and photonics by transporting data at optical frequencies but at electronic size scales. Potential applications include faster computer chips using plasmonic interconnects and new cancer treatments using plasmonic nanoparticles.

1. PLASMONICS
PLASMONICS – The newer technology that enables faster world
1
K.KRISHNA MOHAN (08M61A0486)
Department of ECE
Mail: mohan.kancharla@gmail.com
ABSTRACT: plasmons are associated with
Get ready to surface charge oscillations. Their
witness even faster computing and frequency is almost equal to that of
telecom. Plasmonics a new light; optical frequencies are about
technology promises to bring this 105 times greater than the
revolution by putting together the frequency of today‟s electronic
best of electronics and plasmonics. microprocessors. So light can be
Currently communication systems used to excite them on the surface
are based on either electronics or of a material in a localized regime.
photonics. However, with the quest
for transporting huge amounts of The energy required to receive and
data at a high speed along with send a surface Plasmon pulse can
miniaturization, both these be less than for electric charging of
technologies are facing limitations. a metallic wire. This could allow
Due to their mismatched capacities plasmons to travel along nanoscale
and sizes, it is very difficult to wires carrying information from one
cobble them to get a high bit rate part of a microprocessor to another
with miniaturization. with a high bit rate. Plasmonic
So researchers are interconnects would be a great boon
pioneering a new technology called for chip designers, who have been
„plasmonics.‟ Due to its frequency able to develop ever smaller and
being approximately equal to that of faster transistors but have had a
light and ability to interface with harder time building minute
similar-size electronic components, electronic circuits that can move
plasmonics can act as a bridge data quickly across the chip.
between photonics and electronics Limitations of present modes:
for communication. Presently, electronics plays an
KEY WORDS: important role in communication. In
Plasmonics,plasmons,plasmonsters, laboratories though, photonics has
invisibility cloak, Metametals, started replacing electronics where a
Plasmontherapy,electronics,photoni high data transfer rate is required.
cs,plasmonicinterconnects. Electronics deals with the flow of
What is plasmonics? charge (electrons). When the
The term „plasmonics‟ is derived frequency of an electronic pulse
from plasmons quanta associated increases, the electronic device
with collective excitation of becomes hot and wires become very
felectrons in metals. Surface loose. Hence by the principle of “the

2. PLASMONICS
higher the frequency, the higher the Hence plasmonics is frequently
data transfer rate,” a huge amount associated with nanotechnology. 2
of data cannot be transferred On the Investigators have found that by
other hand, when the size of an creatively designing the metal
electronic wire reduces, its dielectric interface, they can
resistance (inversely proportional to generate surface plasmons with the
the cross-sectional area of the wire) same frequency as the
increases but the capacitance electromagnetic wave but with much
remains almost the same. This leads smaller wavelength. This
to time delay effects. phenomenon could allow plasmons
In photonics, optical to travel along nanoscale wires
fibres are used. These transmit called „interconnects‟ in order to
light along their axis by the process carry information from one part of
of total internal reflection. The fibre the microprocessor to another.
consists of a core surrounded by a
cladding layer, both of which are
made of dielectric materials. To
confine the optical signal in the
core, the refractive index of the core
must be greater than of the
cladding. The lateral confinement
size of the optical cable is
approximately half the wavelength of
the light used. Hence the size ofthe
optical cable is of the order of Fig.Operating speeds and sizes of
hundreds of nanometers larger than plasmonics and other devices
today‟s electronic devices.
Communication with plasmonics: APPLICATIONS :
This technology has vast
Plasmonic structures can exert huge applications in various fields of
control over electromagnetic waves science and technology.
at the nanoscale. As a result, energy
carried by plasmons allows for light PLASMONSTERS – A FASTER
localisation in ultra-small volumes CHIP:
far beyond the diffraction limit of The development of chip-scale
light. To generate surface plasmons, electronics and photonics has led to
it is necessary to excite the metal- remarkable data processing and
dielectric interface in which the transport capabilities that permeate
dielectric constant of the metal is a almost every facet of our lives.
function of frequency and negative. Plasmonics is an exciting new device
At the nanoscale, the technology that has recently
electromagnetic (EM) field of the EM emerged. It exploits the unique
wave displays the electron cloud due optical properties of metallic
to its well coupling, which is not nanostructures to enable routing
possible in the case of bulk matter.

3. PLASMONICS
and manipulation of light at the nanoshells into a promising tool for
nanoscale. A tremendous synergy cancer treatment. Scientists injected 3
can be attained by integrating plasmonic nanoshells into the
plasmonic, electronic, and bloodstream of mice with cancerous
conventional dielectric photonic tumors and found that the particles
devices on the same chip and taking were nontoxic. What is more, the
advantage of the strengths of each nanoshells tended to embed
technology themselves in the rodents'
cancerous tissues rather than the
Plasmonic therapy- cure for healthy ones because more blood
cancer : was circulated to the fast-growing
Fig.Nanoshell tumors.
Invisibility cloak:
The potential uses of plasmonic
devices go far beyond computing,
however. Scientists have developed
structures called nanoshells that
consist of a thin layer of gold
typically about 10 nanometers thick Whilst previous studies have either
deposited around the entire surface been theoretical or limited to the
of a silica particle about 100 cloaking of 2D objects, the
nanometers across. Exposure to University of Texas team has been
electromagnetic waves generates able to demonstrate how ordinary
electron oscillations in the gold objects of any size and shape can be
shell; because of the coupling cloaked in their natural
interaction between the fields on the environment in all directions. The
shell's inner and outer surfaces, researchers used a method known
varying the size of the particle and as plasmonic cloaking to hide an
the thickness of the gold layer 18cm cylindrical tube from
changes the wavelength at which microwaves. They did this using a
the particle resonantly absorbs different kind of material known as
energy. In this way, investigators plasmonic Meta materials –
can design the nanoshells to composites of metal and non-
selectively absorb wavelengths as conductive synthetics made of
short as a few hundred nanometers nanometer-sized structures. "When
(the blue end of the visible light strikes an object, it rebounds
spectrum) or as long as nearly 10 off its surface towards another
microns (the near infra red). direction, just like throwing a tennis
ball against a wall”. The reason we
This phenomenon has turned see objects is because light rays

4. PLASMONICS
bounce off materials towards our In order to realise advanced active
eyes, and our eyes are able to circuits , there is a need for active 4
process the information. modulator and components
operating at Ultra-high bandwidth
and low power utilisation.
QUANTUM DOT PLASMONICS: Conclusion:
These are the semiconductor Plasmonics is a fascinating and
nano crystals. It couples strongly currently vastly expanding area of
both photonics and electronic research, and hopefully reading
property; these are used for making through this text has provided the
superfast computers that can interested reader not only with an
transfer data up to 10GBPS.used in overview, but also with a solid
optical applications such imaging, foundation for own explorations.
solar photo voltaic and artificial Clearly, the diversity of emerging
photo synthesis. and potential applications of sub-
wavelength optics with metals
Future directions: together with successful proof-of-
 To develop new optical concept studies suggest that
components and systems interest in the field will be soaring
that are of same size as for many years to come.
today smallest integrated
chips. References:
 Plasmon sources, 1. Akmov, a.m.mukhegee.
detectors, switches and 2. Albrecht, McCann J.A
wires as well as splitters Creighton
can be developed. 3. From the book “The
 Molecular switches. emerging future of Nano
 All frequencies of the technology”
visible light must be 4. www.nanoplasmonics.com
covered. 5. www.physisorg.com
Challenges remaining :
The dream of making all-Plasmonic
devices requires further research .