Nanoscopic Christmas tree lit by a laser pulse
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.028517
MIT Technology Review : To celebrate the holiday season, a group of researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Sweden simulated the outcome of shining a high-intensity laser pulse on a gold nanoscopic Christmas tree decorated with glass balls and a glass star. As the tree absorbed and reflected the light pulse, electric field gradients along its edges caused both the tree and its decorations to glow. The glow emanates from the wave-like plasmons created as the light interacts with free electrons inside the metal. Plasmons could potentially serve several useful purposes, such as for high-speed data transmission in computer chips and high-resolution lithography.
