Plasmonics: Computational Approach

The rapid surge of nano-optics in recent years has been fueled by both the fast growth of laser technologyl and significant advances in nanofabrication techniques.² Modem experimental equipment allows researchers to go far beyond the diffraction limit to explore optics at the deep nanoscale, opening up a wide variety of applications ranging from metamaterials³ and nanoscale plasmonic devices⁴ through plasmonic circuitry⁵ and efficient solar energy harvesting⁶ to biomedical applications.⁷ A strong emphasis on plasmonic materials in these applications is due to several intriguing properties of nanoscale structures comprised of noble metals: their unique ability to resonantly scatter incident electromagnetic (EM) radiation in the visible part of the spectrum⁸ and extreme light concentration.⁹.