Subwavelength Resonant Nanostructures: Fabrication and Functionalities

This Book provides a comprehensive overview of the optical processes in optical nanostructures supporting various resonance excitations and interactions, offering insights into the plasmonic excitations, confined mode propagations, and manipulation of light at the subwavelength scale. By understanding and harnessing these optical processes in resonant nanostructures, researchers can design and develop innovative nanophotonic devices and systems for a wide range of applications, including biosensing, imaging, information processing, energy conversion, and more. This Book is divided into three chapters, each of which focuses on different aspects of optical processes and their applications. The first part of the Book covers nanofabrication and optical characterization of the nanostructures, in particular, a comprehensive range of topics related to cleanroom processes, crystal growth, self-assembly, scanning-electron imaging, and far- and near-field characterization techniques. Readers will gain valuable insights into fundamental cleanroom practices, methods for growing high-quality crystals, techniques for self-assembling nanostructures, and advanced imaging approaches. Additionally, we highlight the cutting-edge far- and near-field characterization methods that enable researchers to analyze materials at the nanoscale with exceptional precision. The second chapter covers the underlying processes of plasmonic applications, including localized resonances, enhanced optical fields, energy localization, quantum plasmonics, and propagating plasmonic surface waves. We provide a brief description of two-dimensional materials and their inclusion in plasmonic nanostructures and their applications. The collective effects in nanoparticle arrays are also discussed, and it is shown how the periodic arrangement of nanoparticles results in narrow resonances with higher quality factors. Finally, the third chapter discusses nanostructure functionalities, including photovoltaics, light sources, sensors, biosensors and chemical sensors, as well as modulators in the context of plasmonics. A detailed explanation of the underlying mechanisms is provided for each application. It serves as a valuable resource for researchers and engineers in the field, guiding them toward harnessing the full potential of resonant optical nanostructures for future applications.