Final Report: Active Plasmonics with Strong THz Fields

Abstract

The main aim of the project was the use of strong THz electric-fields to modify the charge density in nanoparticles and to realize a fast and efficient control of optical plasmons in gold nanoparticles. The project funded two doctoral researchers, a broad range of experiments was conducted and a new theory was developed. The main observation motivating the project could not be reproduced with the new setup. Probably due to past artifacts in the complicated experiment. However, the investigation of the interaction of strong THz pulses with gold led to the observation of new, fundamental effects and motivated the development of a new theory that represents an improved fundamental understanding of plasmon dynamics and which already enabled the explanation of recent experimental observations.