Physics professor publishes article on newly discovered energy levels
Physics professor Hernando Garcia published an article about newly discovered energy levels. Photo courtesy of Theresa San Luis
Physics professor Hernando Garcia came out with a publication based on his research titled “Ferroplasmons: Intense Localized Surface Plasmons in Metal-Ferromagnetic Nanoparticles.”
According to Garcia, he and eight other scientists discovered new energy levels which they termed “ferroplasmon.”
Garcia said his research focuses on understanding the optical properties of nanostructural materials and is a good contribution to the material research community.
According to the article, “From the technological point of view, one could envision several potential applications employing ferroplasmonic materials. One of them is in the field of magnetic data storage.”
Garcia added that the goal of the research is to reduce matter to very small scales and when this happens, new phenomenon and effects come into play which is very difficult to do.
Garcia said such findings could be revolutionary in the traditional way electronics is done.
“I think it is a step forward but it’s a long way to go,” Garcia said. “It’s a lot of work. We’re making progress little by little. We’re going in the right track.”
According to Garcia, he and a team of scientists from the University of Tennessee invented the word “ferroplasmon” to describe energy levels of hybridized dimers: two different particles placed together that reach nanoscopic levels. Through a process called laser dewetting, they reduced cobalt and silver to become nanoparticles. In other words, they used a flash of light to make the metals become liquid and nucleate or divide. In addition, they took the samples and studied their magnetic and optical properties.
Garcia said he did experimental and theoretical applications of work on the nanoscopic materials.
According to Garcia, he has always been fascinated with how magnetism can influence the optical response of nanostructure materials, which is quite complicated and a poorly understood area in physics.
“This relationship is a scenario where there is still a lot of work that needs to be done,” Garcia said.
Garcia will present his findings at Focus LatinAmerica 2014, an optics workshop in Medellín, Colombia, in November. He will also speak at the 12th International Conference on Fiber Optics and Photonics which is organized by the Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology, in Kharagpur, India, in December.
According to Garcia, he has published 15 articles based on this research topic.
Filed Under: Physics
