Squeezing Maxwell’s equations into the nanoscale

Abstract

The plasmonic behavior of nanostructured materials has ignited intense research for the fundamental physics of plasmonic structures and their cutting-edge applications concerning the fields of nanoscience and biosensing. The optical response of plasmonic metals is generally well-described by classical Maxwell’s Equations (ME). Thus, the understanding of plasmons and the design of plasmonic nanostructures can therefore directly benefit from lastest advances achieved in classic research areas such as computational electromagnetics. In this context, this paper is devoted to review the most recent advances in nanoplasmonic modeling, related with the latest breakthroughs in surface integral equation (SIE) formulations derived from ME. These works have extended the scope of application of Maxwell’s Equations, from microwave/milimeter waves to infrared and optical frequency bands, in the emerging fields of nanoscience and medical biosensing.