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Details of Plasmonics & Applied Plasmonics

In physics, the plasmon is the quasiparticle resulting from the quantization of plasma oscillations just as photons and phonons are quantizations of light and sound waves. Thus, plasmons are collective oscillations of the free electron gas density, often at optical frequencies. They can also couple with a photon to create a third quasiparticle called a plasma polariton.
Since plasmons are the quantization of classical plasma oscillations, most of their properties can be derived directly from Maxwell's Equations.
Plamonics is thought to embody the strongest points of both optical and electronic data transfer. Optical data transfer, as in fiber optics, allows high bandwidth, but requires bulky "wires," or tubes with reflective interiors. Electronic data transfer operates at frequencies inferior to fiber optics, but only requires tiny wires. Plasmonics, sometimes called "light on a wire," would allow the transmission of data at optical frequencies along the surface of a tiny metal wire, despite the fact that the data travels in the form of electron density distributions rather than photons.
The main limitation to plasmonics today is that plasmons tend to dissipate after only a few millimeters, making them too short-lived to serve as a basis for computer chips, which are a few centimeters across. For sending data even longer distances, the technology would need even more improvement. The key is using a material with a low refractive index, ideally negative, such that the incoming electromagnetic energy is reflected parallel to the surface of the material and transmitted along its length as far as possible. There exists no natural material with a negative refractive index, so nanostructured materials must be used to fabricate effective plasmonic devices. For this reason, plasmonics is frequently associated with nanotechnology.
Before all-plasmonic chips are developed, plasmonics will probably be integrated with conventional silicon devices. Plasmonic wires will act as high-bandwidth freeways across the busiest areas of the chip. Plasmonics has also been used in biosensors. When a particular protein or DNA molecule rests on the surface of a plasmon-carrying metallic material, it leaves its characteristic signature in the angle at which it reflects the energy.
Applied Plasmonics, a fabless semiconductor company, has invented a practical, mass-market use for devices based on surface plasmons. The new technology employs nano-antennas manufactured in a single layer to generate visible light.
Our mission is to create selected, innovative, products that exploit surface plasmons. We develop intellectual property that enables the design, development, and fabrication of light emission devices on standard CMOS silicon, and other substrates, by exploiting the lithographic capabilities of mainstream semiconductor processing in combination with vacuum microelectronics.