Plasmonics

Plasmonics is a field of photonics that studies the interaction of light with collective oscillations of free electrons (plasmons) at the boundary of a metal and a dielectric, enabling light to be concentrated and guided at a scale much smaller than its wavelength.

How does plasmonics work?

Free electrons on a metal surface (usually gold or silver) can oscillate collectively in resonance with an incident electromagnetic field, creating a strongly localized, enhanced field immediately adjacent to the metal surface — an effect impossible to achieve with classical, diffraction-limited optics.

Applications

Plasmonics is used in highly sensitive biochemical sensors that use SPR, signal enhancement in Raman spectroscopy (SERS), thin-film photovoltaics, and experimental nanoantenna structures that increase the efficiency of light detectors.

Related terms

SPR

Photonic crystals

FDTD