Evanescent Waves in Optics ― An Introduction to Plasmonics

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.

Mario Bertolotti is retired professor of Physics and Optics with the Engineering Faculty of the Roma La Sapienza University, Italy. For decades he has been interested in lasers and their applications, carrying out studies on coherence, propagation of light in the atmosphere, scattering, holography, laser annealing, etc. More recently he has been interested in integrated optics, nonlinear optics, nano-optics, and plasmonics. He is author of more than five hundred papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals and of several books, co-editor of a number of schools and conference proceedings, and editor or editorial board member of several journals.

Concita Sibilia received her doctoral degree from the University of Roma “La Sapienza”. She is currently Head of the Nonlinear Optical Laboratory at the Dipartimento di Energetica of the University of Roma. She is full professor in Physics since 2000. Her main research interests are in the field of optics and nonlinear optics at nanoscales. She has chaired ESF-COST P11 action on “Physics of Photonics Crystals“. She is author of more than three hundred papers in peer-reviewed journals. She is a member of the Optical Society of America, member of the European Physical Society, Board member of the European Optical Society and the Italian Optical Society.

Angela Guzman is Professor Emerita from the National University of Colombia. She obtained her Dr. Sc. degree from the Ludwig Maximilian University for research conducted at the Max Planck Institute for Quantum Optics, Germany, and conducted post-doctoral research at the Optical Sciences Center of the University of Arizona in Tucson, Arizona. She holds an Honorary Doctor degree from the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Khachatur Abobyan. She is author of more than a hundred papers in peer reviewed journals and co-editor of several conference proceedings. In 2007 she was made Fellow of the Optical Society (OSA) for her contributions to quantum and atom optics and for the promotion of optics in developing countries. Her main research areas have been quantum optics, nonlinear optics, and nonlinear effects in waveguides.