Workshop on the interplay between tunneling current and optical excitations

As the drive for faster and smaller circuits continues, the development of electrically-driven nanoscale sources of light becomes urgent. Nanosources based on inelastic electron tunneling (IET) in metal-insulator-metal junctions (MIMs) have been known to emit radiation since the 1970s with the work of Lamb & McCarthy. They have gained attention recently due to reports of enhanced electron-to-photon conversion efficiencies with optical antennas. The purpose of this workshop is to explore the physical basis for the generation of optical excitations (photons and plasmons) in out-of-equilibrium tunneling junctions operating at high bias (a few volts) in a dissipative environment. The reverse process—the effect of light on electron tunneling in such junctions—will also be discussed.