Near Field Optics And Surface Plasmon Polaritons

Covers not only near-field optical microscopy but also wider fields such as local spectroscopy, nano-scale optical processing, quantum near-field optics, and atom manipulation.

This monograph provides an introductory discussion of evanescent waves and plasmons, describes their properties and uses, and shows how they are fundamental when operating with nanoscale optics. Far field optics is not suitable for the design, description, and operation of devices at this nanometre scale. Instead one must work with models based on near-field optics and surface evanescent waves. The new discipline of plasmonics has grown to encompass the generation and application of plasmons both as a travelling excitation in a nanostructure and as a stationary enhancement of the electrical field near metal nanosurfaces. The book begins with a brief review of the basic concepts of electromagnetism, then introduces evanescent waves through reflection and refraction, and shows how they appear in diffraction problems, before discussing the role that they play in optical waveguides and sensors. The application of evanescent waves in super-resolution devices is briefly presented, before plasmons are introduced. The surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) are then treated, highlighting their potential applications also in ultra-compact circuitry. The book concludes with a discussion of the quantization of evanescent waves and quantum information processing. The book is intended for students and researchers who wish to enter the field or to have some insight into the matter. It is not a textbook but simply an introduction to more complete and in-depth discussions. The field of plasmonics has exploded in the last ten years, and most of the material treated in this book is scattered in original or review papers. A short comprehensive treatment is missing; this book is intended to provide just that.

"This groundbreaking book focuses on near-field microscopy which has opened up optical processes at the nanoscale for direct inspection. Further, it explores the emerging area of nano-optics which promises to make possible optical microscopy with true nanometer resolution. This frontline resource helps you achieve high resolution optical imaging of biological species and functional materials. You also find guidance in the imaging of optical device operation and new nanophotonics functionalities"--EBL.

Near-field optics, dealing with the interaction between optical field and matter in the nanometric region, has become an interdisciplinary field spaning physics, chemistry, materials science, electrical engineering and high density data storage. This book reflects the recent status of this rapidly growing field. It discusses the basic theories, instrumentation, novel probes, theoretical simulations, and the application of near-field optics to the fields of condensed matter physics, new materials, information storage, atom photonics, etc. It provides an overview of the research on near-field optics in the 1990s.

This book discusses a new class of photonic devices, known as surface plasmon nanophotonic structures. The book highlights several exciting new discoveries, while providing a clear discussion of the underlying physics, the nanofabrication issues, and the materials considerations involved in designing plasmonic devices with new functionality. Chapters written by the leaders in the field of plasmonics provide a solid background to each topic.

This book brings together tutorial-style expository chapters on both foundational material and current research areas in near-field optics. The starting point for the book was the Summer School at the 16th International Conference on Near-Field Optics, Nanophotonics and Related Techniques (2022), with each Summer School short course represented by a chapter, along with an additional specially selected chapter on a complementary topic. Together, the chapters within present a modern perspective of the area of near-field optics, focusing on recent theoretical approaches, but also capturing the evolution of the field. Each chapter is written by an internationally-recognized expert and provides a tutorial on a different aspects of the theory and analytical methods for near-field optics, nanophotonics, and plasmonics. While the material will be accessible at the graduate level, it will also provide a useful reference for established researchers in near-field optics and scientists in nearby fields.

Optical disc industry is one of the successful businesses in the world, and huge amounts of discs and drives have been spread all over the world. More than a billion discs are produced and distributed every year. Since the ?rst optical discs – Laser Discs and Compact Discs (CD) – were shipped in the early 1980s, they have rapidly dominated the world music market, and DVDs will replace the video-tape market in the near future. The optical disc and drive technologies consist of the most advanced and integrated systems with regard to optics, physics, chemistry, mathematics, electronics, mechanics and related subjects; a huge number of scientists and engineers have engaged in the research and development of the systems. One of the key factors of the development of the optical disc systems, of course, results in the availability of cheap, stable, and reliable semiconductor laser units. Now, you can store data up to 4. 7GB on a single side of the 12-cm DVD, and in the near future, blue laser technology will allow storage of more than 20GB on the same size disc. We should not however forget the other core technologies such as focusing the beam on the surface of a spinning disc precisely, and encoding and decoding digital data. The data capacity of optical discs has increased from 0. 65GB to 25GB by the year 2003, and we certainly believe it will continue to increase with new technologies.

A collection of chapters, authored by leading experts in the field, on the use of micro and nano technologies for biomedical applications.