Lecture 1: Introduction to Nanophotonics, Plasmonics, and Metamaterials
Overview
- Focus on 3 key technologies for future photonics: Nanophotonics, Plasmonics, and Metamaterials.
- Importance due to advancements in 5G, IoT, AI, and ML.
- Aim: High computational speed, ultra-fast data transfer, and low power consumption.
Course Structure
- Week 1 (Module 1): Introduction
- Nanophotonics and Plasmonics
- Metamaterials and Metasurfaces
- Overview and current status
- Weeks 2 and 3 (Module 2): Fundamentals of Nanophotonics
- Electromagnetic theory of light
- Interaction of light with dielectric media
- Polarization, reflection, refraction, absorption, dispersion, scattering
- Weeks 4 and 5 (Module 3): Electromagnetic Waves in Periodic Structures
- Dielectric layered media and photonic crystals
- Real and reciprocal lattices
- 2D and 3D photonic crystals
- Weeks 6 and 7 (Module 4): Metal Optics and Plasmonics
- Optical properties of metals
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)
- Localized surface plasmon resonance
- Weeks 8 and 9 (Module 5): Metamaterials
- Effective medium theories
- Perfect absorbers, super lens, hyperbolic metamaterials
- Week 10 (Module 6): Metasurfaces
- Frequency selective surfaces
- Guided-mode resonance
- Week 11 (Module 7): Transformation Optics
- Invisibility cloaks
- Alternative metamaterials
- Week 12 (Module 8): Realization of Nanophotonic Devices
- Nanofabrication techniques
- Lithography and pattern transfer
Electromagnetic Spectrum
- Wavelengths from radio waves to gamma rays
- Importance of visible light (380-780 nm)
- Conversion between frequency and wavelength
Optics vs Photonics
- Optics: General behavior and properties of light
- Photonics: Science and technology of photons
- Involves generation, detection, manipulation
- Main difference: relative size of interacting elements
Nanophotonics
- Interaction of light at the nanoscale
- Applications: Optical fibers, lasers, sensors
- Importance of manipulating light at nanometer scale
Plasmonics
- A subfield of nanophotonics
- Deals with electron oscillations in metals
- Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs)
- Localized surface plasmons
- History: Lycurgus cup from Roman times
- Applications: Solar cells, cancer therapy, high-density storage
Challenges in Modern Electronics
- Energy and power demands increasing with data traffic
- Moore’s Law and miniaturization of transistors
- RC delay as a bottleneck in electronics
- Need for photonic technology to handle data rates
The Role of Plasmonics
- Combines benefits of electronics and photonics
- Terahertz speed at nanometer scale
- Potential to solve upcoming data traffic issues
Future Prospects
- Potential applications across various fields
- Plasmonics as an interdisciplinary field
Contact
This lecture introduces the fundamental concepts of nanophotonics, plasmonics, and metamaterials, setting the stage for more detailed exploration in future lectures.