Recent years have seen a rapid expansion of research into nanophotonics based on surface plasmon–polaritons. These electromagnetic waves propagate along metal–dielectric interfaces and can be guided by metallic nanostructures beyond the diffraction limit. This remarkable capability has unique prospects for the design of highly integrated photonic signal-processing systems, nanoresolution optical imaging techniques and sensors. This Review summarizes the basic principles and major achievements of plasmon guiding, and details the current state-of-the-art in subwavelength plasmonic waveguides, passive and active nanoplasmonic components for the generation, manipulation and detection of radiation, and configurations for the nanofocusing of light. Potential future developments and applications of nanophotonic devices and circuits are also discussed, such as in optical signals processing, nanoscale optical devices and near-field microscopy with nanoscale resolution.

Plasmonics beyond the diffraction limit

In 1873, Ernst Abbe discovered what was to become a well-known paradigm: the inability of a lens-based optical microscope to discern details that are closer together than half of the wavelength of light. However, for its most popular imaging mode, fluorescence microscopy, the diffraction barrier is crumbling. Here, I discuss the physical concepts that have pushed fluorescence microscopy to the nanoscale, once the prerogative of electron and scanning probe microscopes. Initial applications indicate that emergent far-field optical nanoscopy will have a strong impact in the life sciences and in other areas benefiting from nanoscale visualization.

/pdf/far-field-optical-nanoscopy-3qevt2g1wp.pdf

Far-Field Optical Nanoscopy

Artificially engineered metamaterials are now demonstrating unprecedented electromagnetic properties that cannot be obtained with naturally occurring materials. In particular, they provide a route to creating materials that possess a negative refractive index and offer exciting new prospects for manipulating light. This review describes the recent progress made in creating nanostructured metamaterials with a negative index at optical wavelengths, and discusses some of the devices that could result from these new materials.

/pdf/optical-negative-index-metamaterials-2q5qafgl3m.pdf

Optical negative-index metamaterials

Metamaterials, or engineered materials with rationally designed, subwavelength-scale building blocks, allow us to control the behavior of physical fields in optical, microwave, radio, acoustic, heat transfer, and other applications with flexibility and performance that are unattainable with naturally available materials. In turn, metasurfaces-planar, ultrathin metamaterials-extend these capabilities even further. Optical metasurfaces offer the fascinating possibility of controlling light with surface-confined, flat components. In the planar photonics concept, it is the reduced dimensionality of the optical metasurfaces that enables new physics and, therefore, leads to functionalities and applications that are distinctly different from those achievable with bulk, multilayer metamaterials. Here, we review the progress in developing optical metasurfaces that has occurred over the past few years with an eye toward the promising future directions in the field.

/pdf/planar-photonics-with-metasurfaces-1sfd62lis7.pdf

Planar Photonics with Metasurfaces

We present the science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems, targeting an evolution in technology, that might lead to impacts and benefits reaching into most areas of society. This roadmap was developed within the framework of the European Graphene Flagship and outlines the main targets and research areas as best understood at the start of this ambitious project. We provide an overview of the key aspects of graphene and related materials (GRMs), ranging from fundamental research challenges to a variety of applications in a large number of sectors, highlighting the steps necessary to take GRMs from a state of raw potential to a point where they might revolutionize multiple industries. We also define an extensive list of acronyms in an effort to standardize the nomenclature in this emerging field.

/pdf/science-and-technology-roadmap-for-graphene-related-two-4q9m7czlkc.pdf

Science and technology roadmap for graphene, related two-dimensional crystals, and hybrid systems

Light–matter interactions at a particular point in a material may be dominated by properties of the medium at this point, or they could be affected by the electromagnetic properties of the medium in the surrounding regions. In the former case, the medium is said to be local, while in the latter, it is nonlocal. Recent studies of light–matter interactions in composite optical metamaterials showed that nonlocal effects enable new optical phenomena that are not acounted for by the conventional, local effective medium description. Up until now the majority of studies focused on metamaterials with spatially uniform material parameters. However, optical metamaterials with electromagnetic material parameters gradually changing from positive to negative values, so-called transition materials, have been predicted to induce a strong enhancement of the local electric or magnetic field in the vicinity of the zero refractive index point. This opens new opportunities for sensing and low-intensity nonlinear optical appl...

Nonlocal Effects in Transition Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Linear and Nonlinear Metamaterials and Transformation Optics Natalia M. Litchinitser, Ildar R. Gabitov, Andrei I. Maimistov, and Vladimir M. Shalaev Fabrication of Optical Metamaterials Alexandra Boltasseva Microwave Metamaterials: Selected Features and Sample Applications Andrea Alu and Nader Engheta Dielectric Metamaterials Dawn Tan, Kazuhiro Ikeda, and Yeshaiahu Fainman Metamaterials with Optical Gain M. A. Noginov Anisotropic and Hyperbolic Metamaterials Viktor A. Podolskiy Radiative Decay Engineering in Metamaterials Leonid V. Alekseyev and Evgenii Narimanov Bianisotropic and Chiral Metamaterials Martin Wegener and Stefan Linden Spatial Dispersion and Effective Constitutive Parameters of Electromagnetic Metamaterials Chris Fietz and Gennady Shvets

Tutorials in Metamaterials

We report the direct observation of lasing action from a dynamically localized mode in a microdisk resonator with rough boundary. In contrast to microlasers based on stable ray trajectories, the performance of our device is robust with respect to the boundary roughness and corresponding ray chaos, taking advantage of Anderson localization in angular momentum. The resonator design, although demonstrated here in GaAs-InAs microdisk laser, should be applicable to any lasers and sensors based on semiconductor or polymer materials.

/pdf/chaotic-microlasers-based-on-dynamical-localization-4faynx8psw.pdf

Chaotic microlasers based on dynamical localization.

We demonstrate that non-magnetic ($\mu \equiv 1$) left-handed materials can be effectively used for waveguide imaging systems. We also propose a specific THz realization of the non-magnetic left-handed material based on homogeneous, naturally-occurring media.

Strongly anisotropic media: the THz perspectives of left-handed materials

The hyperbolic and plasmonic properties of silicon nanowire/Ag arrays have been investigated. The aligned nanowire arrays were formed and coated by atomic layer deposition of Ag, which itself is a metamaterial due to its unique mosaic film structure. The theoretical and numerical studies suggest that the fabricated arrays have hyperbolic dispersion in the visible and IR ranges of the spectrum. The theoretical predictions have been indirectly confirmed by polarized reflection spectra, showing reduction of the reflection in p polarization in comparison to that in s polarization. Studies of dye emission on top of Si/Ag nanowire arrays show strong emission quenching and shortening of dye emission kinetics. This behavior is also consistent with the predictions for hyperbolic media. The measured SERS signals were enhanced by almost an order of magnitude for closely packed and aligned nanowires, compared to random nanowire composites. These results agree with electric field simulations of these array structures.

Viktor A. Podolskiy

Papers

Nonlocal Effects in Transition Hyperbolic Metamaterials

Tutorials in Metamaterials

Chaotic microlasers based on dynamical localization.

Strongly anisotropic media: the THz perspectives of left-handed materials

Hyperbolic and plasmonic properties of Silicon/Ag aligned nanowire arrays