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Advances in photonics and nanotechnology have the potential to revolutionize humanity's ability to communicate and compute. To pursue these advances, it is mandatory to understand and properly model interactions of light with materials such as silicon and gold at the nanoscale, i.e., the span of a few tens of atoms laid side by side. These interactions are governed by the fundamental Maxwell's equations of classical electrodynamics, supplemented by quantum electrodynamics.This book presents the current state-of-the-art in formulating and implementing computational models of these interactions. Maxwell's equations are solved using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique, pioneered by the senior editor, whose prior Artech House books in this area are among the top ten most-cited in the history of engineering. You discover the most important advances in all areas of FDTD and PSTD computational modeling of electromagnetic wave interactions.This cutting-edge resource helps you understand the latest developments in computational modeling of nanoscale optical microscopy and microchip lithography. You also explore cutting-edge details in modeling nanoscale plasmonics, including nonlocal dielectric functions, molecular interactions, and multi-level semiconductor gain. Other critical topics include nanoscale biophotonics, especially for detecting early-stage cancers, and quantum vacuum, including the Casimir effect and blackbody radiation.

A new property of the trapped mode (bound state in the continuum, BIC) supported by a dielectric resonant metasurface, which changes its lattice symmetry, is uncovered. The transformation of a metasurface composed of identical nanodisk resonators into a “diatomic” structure when one half of the nanodisks change their diameters is studied. The resulting folding of the Brillouin zone in the k‐space transforms the trapped (BIC) mode to quasi‐BIC resonances manifested in the polarization‐independent response. This novel feature is verified experimentally in the transmission of the metasurfaces illuminated by light with both linear and circular polarizations. The excitation mechanism of a polarization‐independent trapped mode (bound state in the continuum, BIC) in dielectric metasurfaces is demonstrated. When a perturbation is introduced, the Brillouin‐zone folding occurs. This shifts the degenerate bound state at M point to the continuum at the Γ point, transforming BIC to a quasi‐BIC, where various input polarization states of light excite the same quasi‐BIC resonance.

The increasing demand for novel mirror coating designs for new generation of gravitational wave detectors is stimulating significant research interest in investigations of reflective properties of metasurfaces. Given this strong interest, this article details a systematic methodology for fabricating reflecting metasurfaces (metamirrors) designed to operate at target wavelengths of 1064 or 1550 nm. The proposed metasurfaces consist of silicon cylindrical nanoparticles placed on a sapphire substrate. First, the dimensional parameters of the structures are thoroughly selected through numerical simulations combined with material characterization. The configurations are subsequently analyzed analytically to reveal the mirror effect, which arises from the excitation of electric and magnetic dipole moments. Following this, the metasurfaces are fabricated and experimentally characterized, demonstrating reflectivity exceeding 95% around the design wavelengths, which is in good agreement with theoretical predictions. Overall, the work demonstrates the feasibility and detailed methodology for the fabrication of thin, lightweight metamirrors capable of achieving near‐perfect reflectivity at the specified target wavelengths. Implementation of metasurface mirrors requires an integrated approach including theoretical analysis, modeling and experimental techniques. This study presents in detail the methodology used to create a wavelength‐selective reflective silicon metasurface on a sapphire substrate designed to operate at wavelengths of 1064 and 1550 nm. Experimental characterization of the metamirrors, fabricated in accordance with the described methodology, confirms their high reflectivity.

Surface lattice resonance supported on plasmonic nanoparticle arrays enhances light‐matter interactions for applications such as photoluminescence enhancement. The photoluminescence process is enhanced through confining light beyond the diffraction limit and inducing stronger light–matter interaction. In this work, the absorption mechanisms of plasmonic nanoparticle arrays embedded with photoluminescent absorbers are analyzed. A modified coupled‐mode theory that describes the optical behavior of the surface lattice resonance was developed and verified by numerical simulations. Based on the analytical model, different components of the absorption contributed by the nanoparticles and the absorbers as well as the resonant properties of each of the components are identified. The origin of difference in resonant behavior with different materials is also discovered by exploring the nearfield characteristics of surface lattice resonance composed with a variety of materials. The competing absorptions by plasmonic nanoparticles and photoluminescent absorbers in plasmonic lattices are analyzed based on a modified coupled‐mode theory and utilized to predict the energy absorption by each component respectively. The behavior of the non‐resonant absorption and the resonant absorptive decay are parametrized and compared between different plasmonic and dielectric lattices to reveal the mechanism of absorption enhancement.

Perovskite, as a promising class of photodetection material, demonstrates considerable potential in replacing conventional bulk light-detection materials such as silicon, III–V, or II–VI compound semiconductors and has been widely applied in various special light detection. Relying solely on the intrinsic photoelectric properties of perovskite gradually fails to meet the evolving requirements attributed to the escalating demand for low-cost, lightweight, flexible, and highly integrated photodetection. Direct manipulation of electrons and photons with differentiation of local electronic field through predesigned optical nanostructures is a promising strategy to reinforce the detectivity. This review provides a concise overview of the optical manipulation strategy in perovskite photodetector through various optical nanostructures, such as isolated metallic nanoparticles and continuous metallic gratings. Furthermore, the special light detection techniques involving more intricate nanostructure designs have been summarized and discussed. Reviewing these optical manipulation strategies could be beneficial to the next design of perovskite photodetector with high performance and special light recognition.

The popularity of polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes (POSS) for use in hybrid organic–inorganic materials and devices has grown in the past two decades due to desirable properties such as good thermal stability and biocompatibility, as well as their potential to be functionalized for a wide range of applications, from polymer composites to optoelectronics. Herein, the role of POSS for photonic applications, including sensing, bioimaging, and optoelectronic devices, is summarized. Functionalized POSS building blocks commonly incorporated with luminescent materials are identified, and areas of potential growth within the field are discussed. The addition of POSS to light‐emitting materials is widely shown to prevent aggregation in organic lumophores and inorganic nanocrystals, leading to reduced photoluminescence quenching. The POSS unit is also capable of acting as a passivating agent for nanocrystals and thin films, improving the emission quantum yields of photoluminescent materials and devices. POSS therefore offers the potential to enhance both the functional and photonic properties of cutting‐edge hybrid technologies. Herein, the use of polyhedral silsesquioxanes (POSS) for photonic applications is presented. The role of POSS and its benefits to light‐emitting materials and photonic processes are considered, with potential opportunities for development identified. Key applications reviewed include POSS use in bioimaging, light‐emitting diodes (LEDs), sensing, photocatalysis, photodynamic therapy, and solar cells.

Photocatalysis comprises a variety of light-driven processes in which solar energy is converted into green chemical energy to drive reactions such as water splitting for hydrogen energy generation, degradation of environmental pollutants, CO2 reduction and NH3 production. Electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials are attractive photocatalyst platforms for a plethora of applications due to their large effective surface area, highly controllable and tuneable light-harvesting capabilities, efficient charge carrier separation and enhanced diffusion of reactive species. Such tailor-made nanoporous substrates with rational chemical and structural designs provide new exciting opportunities to develop advanced optical semiconductor structures capable of performing precise and versatile control over light–matter interactions to harness electromagnetic waves with unprecedented high efficiency and selectivity for photocatalysis. This review introduces fundamental developments and recent advances of electrochemically engineered nanoporous materials and their application as platforms for photocatalysis, with a final prospective outlook about this dynamic field.

Nanostructures and nanomaterials, especially plasmonic nanostructures, often show optical properties that conventional materials lack and can manipulate light, as well as various light–matter interactions, in both their near-field and far-field regions with a high efficiency. Thanks to these unique properties, not only can they be used to enhance the sensitivity of chemical sensing and analysis techniques, but they also provide a solution for designing new sensing devices and simplifying the design of analytical instruments. The earliest applications of optical nanostructures are surface-enhanced spectroscopies. With the help of the resonance field enhancement of plasmonic nanostructures, molecular signals, such as Raman, infrared absorption, and fluorescence can be significantly enhanced, and even single-molecule analysis can be realized. Moreover, the resonant field enhancements of plasmonic nanostructures are often associated with other effects, such as optical forces, resonance shifts, and photothermal effects. Using these properties, label-free plasmonic sensors, nano-optical tweezers, and plasmonic matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization have also been demonstrated in the past two decades. In the last few years, the research on optical nanostructures has gradually expanded to non-periodic 2D array structures, namely metasurfaces. With the help of metasurfaces, light can be arbitrarily manipulated, leading to many new possibilities for developing miniaturized integrated intelligent sensing and analysis systems. In this review, we discuss the applications of optical nanostructures in chemical sensing and analysis from both theoretical and practical aspects, aiming at a concise and unified framework for this field.

Surface plasmons excited by light in metal structures provide a means for manipulating optical energy at the nanoscale. Plasmons are associated with the collective oscillations of conduction electrons in metals and play a role intermediate between photonics and electronics. As such, plasmonic devices have been created that mimic photonic waveguides as well as electrical circuits operating at optical frequencies. We review the plasmon technologies and circuits proposed, modeled, and demonstrated over the past decade that have potential applications in optical computing and optical information processing.

Multi-dimensional coherent spectroscopy (MDCS) has become an extremely versatile and sensitive technique for elucidating the structure, composition, and dynamics of condensed matter, atomic, and molecular systems. The appeal of MDCS lies in its ability to resolve both individual-emitter and ensemble-averaged dynamics of optically created excitations in disordered systems. When applied to semiconductors, MDCS enables unambiguous separation of homogeneous and inhomogeneous contributions to the optical linewidth, pinpoints the nature of coupling between resonances, and reveals signatures of many-body interactions. In this review, we discuss the implementation of MDCS to measure the nonlinear optical response of excitonic transitions in semiconductor nanostructures. Capabilities of the technique are illustrated with recent experimental studies that advance our understanding of optical decoherence and dissipation, energy transfer, and many-body phenomena in quantum dots and quantum wells, semiconductor microcavities, layered semiconductors, and photovoltaic materials.