Resonant Enhancement of Nonlinear Processes in Statistical Nanophotonics

The present proposal aims to research and develop novel ways to control material response to incident electromagnetic waves of very large intensities. In particular, we will explore strong enhancement of nonlinear optical responses of materials due to a resonant nature of the light interaction either with individual impurities, embedded into semiconductor materials, or with collective motions of free electrons at the interface between the air and noble metals. The novel control techniques have at their heart our ability to control statistical properties of light source emitting the electromagnetic waves which resonantly excite the studied materials. The results of the proposed research will find applications to the fields as diverse as physics, biomedical sciences, solar energy harvesting, environmental sciences, and national security. For example, the resonant enhancement of nonlinear responses at air-metal interfaces can be utilised to significantly improve the accuracy of the existing sensor technology. The latter will allow doctors to better detect cancer cells, the anti-terror squads and environmental experts to detect with the unprecedented accuracy even minute amounts of potentially harmful chemicals, down to the single-molecule level! We also propose to examine the rogue-wave excitation mechanism(s) and their statistical control in resonant optical systems. Rogue waves are the waves of unusually large amplitudes that seem to appear from nowhere and vanish leaving no vestige. The knowledge of the rogue-wave excitation mechanism, statistics and control will pave the way for the realization of a rogue-wave laser, an optical device generating coherent large-amplitude optical pulses in a highly controlled manner. Our explorations into optical rogue waves can help our fundamental understanding of their universal nature, leading, in turn, to novel applications in the areas as diverse as engineering, where we would like to be able to reliably predict the rogue wave occurence probability, and the ocean travel where we would like to be able to avoid or suppress the rogue waves which have already lead to a number of fatal seafaring accidents.