In the project "Investigation and application of the plasmonic enhancement effect of inverse plasmonic nanostructures on the chiral interaction between light and matter", we aim to use plasmonic structures to understand the interactions between light, plasmonic structures and chiral materials in the mid-infrared range and to use this understanding to determine the chirality of tiny sample quantities with low-cost instrumentation and to enable spectral investigation. Accordingly, the project aims to answer two distinct questions using two scenarios that are closely related. In the first scenario, chiral nanostructures will be used to enhance the interactions of circularly polarized light and chiral molecules. In this part of the project, we will systematically and comprehensively investigate the dependence of the interactions between the plasmonic structures and the analyte. The findings from these studies will help to establish appropriate theories and address the corresponding challenges in the second scenario.In the second scenario, linearly polarized light and achiral substrates based on elliptical nanopores in a gold layer will be used to enhance the circular dichroism of chiral molecules. The planned experiments will allow us to determine whether this is indeed the best scenario for plasmon enhanced circular dichroism spectroscopy. If successful, the study will enable a simple and effective platform for ultrasensitive chiral analysis.

The project is funded by the DFG community under the number MA 2616/8-1.