First-Principles Approach to Graded-Particle Composites (Completed)

We aim at developing new theories to account for the effects of gradation
and dielectric anisotropy on the effective dielectric response of
composites. In these composites, the material properties of the particles
can vary continuously in space, and have attracted much interest as one of
the advanced inhomogeneous composite materials in various engineering
applications. We will focus on the electrokinetic behaviors of graded
cells, as well as the nonlinear optical properties of composites of graded
particles. These problems have wide practical applications and importance,
since identification and analysis of cell populations and
(micro)biological particles are essential in diverse applications ranging
from cancer research to chemical analysis of environmental pollutants. In
addition to biological and environmental applications, electrokinetic
phenomena have been suggested as possible mechanisms for nanomotors. The
composite of graded particles with dielectric anisotropy possesses a large
optical nonlinearity and thus can be a good candidate for nonlinear
optical switching devices in photonics and real-time coherent optical
signal processors.