"Nanophotonics or nano-optics is the study of the behavior of light on the nanometer scale, and of the interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light."
Interaction of light with nanomaterials and their applications.
Optical Properties of Materials: In nanophotonics, the manipulation of light is achieved by exploiting the unique properties of materials. Hence, a good understanding of the optical properties of materials such as dielectrics, semiconductors, and metals is crucial.
Quantum Mechanics: Quantum mechanics is the foundation for understanding the behavior of electrons and photons in nanoscale systems.
Electromagnetic Theory: Electromagnetic theory is used to understand the interaction of light with matter and the propagation of electromagnetic waves.
Plasmonics: Plasmonics deals with the collective electron oscillations in metals, which can be used for enhancing light-matter interactions and for constructing nanoscale optical devices.
Waveguides and Resonators: Waveguides and resonators are essential components in nanophotonic devices that can confine and manipulate light at the nanoscale.
Photonic Crystals: Photonic crystals are periodic structures with a spatial variation of the refractive index, which can manipulate the propagation of light in a similar way to electronic band structures in solids.
Nanostructures: Nanostructures such as nanoparticles, nanowires, and nanotubes can be used in nanophotonic devices, either as building blocks or as active elements.
Nanofabrication Techniques: Nanofabrication techniques such as electron beam lithography, atomic layer deposition, and nanoscale patterning are essential for constructing nanophotonic devices.
Biophotonics: Biophotonics combines nanophotonics with biology and medicine, with applications such as biosensors, imaging, and drug delivery.
Quantum Optics: Quantum optics deals with the quantum mechanical behavior of light, which is relevant for understanding and constructing quantum photonic devices.
Nonlinear Optics: Nonlinear optics deals with the interaction of light with matter at high intensities, which can lead to the generation of new frequencies and nonlinear optical effects.
Ultrafast Optics: Ultrafast optics deals with the manipulation of light pulses with durations of femtoseconds or shorter, which can be used for studying and controlling ultrafast processes in materials and molecules.
Optoelectronics: Optoelectronics deals with the interaction of light with electronic devices, which is crucial for constructing integrated nanophotonic circuits.
Solar Cells: Nanophotonic structures can be used in solar cells for enhancing the absorption and collection of sunlight.
Quantum Computing: Quantum computing is a promising application of nanophotonics, where photons can be used as qubits for constructing quantum computers.
Plasmonics: It is the study of the interaction between light and metallic nanoscale objects, which can enhance the electromagnetic fields of light and are often used in sensors.
Photonic crystals: The materials that create a periodic variation in the refractive index. This can create light wavelength filtering and manipulation properties, and can be used in LED lights, lasers, and sensors.
Quantum dots: A class of semiconductor nanoparticles that have unique optical and electronic properties because of their small size, and these can be used in biological research, as well as in displays and light-emitting diodes.
Metamaterials: These are artificial structures that have unusual optical properties that are not found in natural materials, and they are used in photonic devices such as waveguides, cloaking devices, and lenses.
Nanowires and nanotubes: They are long, thin nanoscale structures that can have either metallic or semiconducting properties, and they have potential applications in optoelectronic devices, sensors, and energy conversion.
Nanoantennas: They are tiny resonant optical structures that can concentrate light and modify its properties, and they can be used in biological imaging, sensing, and spectroscopy.
Nanophotonic devices: Nanophotonic devices integrate various nanostructures into functional devices with advanced optical properties, including super-resolution imaging, nanoscale lasers, and broadband optical filters.
"It is a branch of optics, optical engineering, electrical engineering, and nanotechnology."
"It often involves dielectric structures such as nanoantennas, or metallic components."
"Dielectric structures such as nanoantennas... can transport and focus light via surface plasmon polaritons."
"The term 'nano-optics', just like the term 'optics', usually refers to situations involving ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light."
"...from 300 to 1200 nanometers."
"The behavior of light on the nanometer scale."
"Optical engineering."
"Optics."
"Metallic components can transport and focus light via surface plasmon polaritons."
"Nanotechnology."
"The nanometer scale."
"The interaction of nanometer-scale objects with light."
"The behavior of light."
"Ultraviolet, visible, and near-infrared light."
"...from 300 to 1200 nanometers."
"Dielectric structures."
"Nanoantennas."
"Electrical engineering and nanotechnology."
"Metallic components that can transport and focus light via surface plasmon polaritons."