Ultrafast energy transfer within the photosystem II core complex.

We report 2D electronic spectroscopy on the photosystem II core complex (PSII CC) at 77 K under different polarization conditions. A global analysis of the high time-resolution 2D data shows rapid, sub-100 fs energy transfer within the PSII CC. It also reveals the 2D spectral signatures of slower energy equilibration processes occurring on several to hundreds of picosecond time scales that are consistent with previous work.

Two-Dimensional Electronic Stark Spectroscopy.

Characterizing ultrafast energy and charge transfer is important for understanding a wide range of systems, from natural photosynthetic complexes to organic photovoltaics. Distinguishing the kinetic processes of energy transfer and charge separation in such systems is challenging due to the lack of clear spectral signatures of charge transfer states, which are typically nonradiative. Stark spectroscopy has proven to be a valuable method for uncovering charge transfer states.

Two-Color Nonlinear Spectroscopy for the Rapid Acquisition of Coherent Dynamics.

There has been considerable recent interest in the observation of coherent dynamics in photosynthetic systems by 2D electronic spectroscopy (2DES). In particular, coherences that persist during the "waiting time" in a 2DES experiment have been attributed to electronic, vibrational, and vibronic origins in various systems. The typical method for characterizing these coherent dynamics requires the acquisition of 2DES spectra as a function of waiting time, essentially a 3DES measurement.

Vibronic coherence in oxygenic photosynthesis.

Photosynthesis powers life on our planet. The basic photosynthetic architecture consists of antenna complexes that harvest solar energy and reaction centres that convert the energy into stable separated charge. In oxygenic photosynthesis, the initial charge separation occurs in the photosystem II reaction centre, the only known natural enzyme that uses solar energy to split water.

Grating based plasmonic band gap cavities.

We report on a comparative study of grating based plasmonic band gap cavities. Numerically, we calculate the quality factors of the cavities based on three types of grating surfaces; uniform, biharmonic and Moiré surfaces. We show that for biharmonic band gap cavities, the radiation loss can be suppressed by removing the additional grating component in the cavity region.

Slowing down surface plasmons on a moiré surface.

We have demonstrated slow propagation of surface plasmons on metallic Moiré surfaces. The phase shift at the node of the Moiré surface localizes the propagating surface plasmons and adjacent nodes form weakly coupled plasmonic cavities. Group velocities around v_{g}=0.

Plasmonic band gap structures for surface-enhanced Raman scattering.

Surface-enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) of rhodamine 6G (R6G) adsorbed on biharmonic metallic grating structures was studied. Biharmonic metallic gratings include two different grating components, one acting as a coupler to excite surface plasmon polaritons (SPP), and the other forming a plasmonic band gap for the propagating SPPs. In the vicinity of the band edges, localized surface plasmons are formed.