Recent progress in plasmonics

Abstract

Plasmonics is an exploding new field of science and technology in which the flow of light can be molded at the nanoscale using metallic nanostructures. This newly found ability is rapidly impacting every facet of optics and photonics and is enabling a myriad of exciting new technologies. After providing an introduction to plasmonics, I will describe a number of interesting recent developments in the field, including chipscale interconnection, solar cells, nanoscale optical spectroscopy, metamaterials, nanoscale thermal engineering, non-linear optics, and quantum optics. Plasmonics is currently moving in many new directions and I will provide my personal assessment of the limitations and most exciting future opportunities for the field. © 2008 Optical Society of America.