PETER-Plasmon Enhanced Terahertz Electron Paramagnetic Resonance

The platform is conceptually based on incorporating THz plasmonic antennas onto surfaces (spectroscopy) and scanning probe tips (microscopy), resulting in a strong, local enhancement (about two orders of magnitude) of the magnetic sensing field. Extending to the THz region enables effective utilization of plasmonic structures resulting in a radical improvement of EPR sensitivity (about four orders of magnitude) and spatial resolution going beyond the diffraction limit, and thus introduce a scanning probe microscopic regime into this field. This will make it possible to map the sample over its area and so to localize its properties with unprecedented resolution (below 1 micrometre). Such a significant enhancement of the EPR performance will open new ways in magnetic sensing technologies enabling for instance to study in situ functional centres in a wide variety of materials, and, generally, set a new direction in the development of the EPR-employing industry. EPR finds its applications in many scientific areas covering chemistry, biology, medicine, materials science, physics, etc. Hence, introducing this new method would have a profound impact on scientific, technological and societal stakeholders in many research and industrial communities.