Advances in Near-Field Optics: Fundamentals and Applications

A special issue of Photonics (ISSN 2304-6732).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 10 April 2025 | Viewed by 1899

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Physical and Chemical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, L’Aquila, Italy
Interests: surface-enhanced spectroscopy; plasmonics; biophotonics; biophysics; nanomaterials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In the ever-evolving landscape of photonics, near-field optics offer unprecedented opportunities thanks to the possibility of tailoring and enhancing electromagnetic fields at the sub-wavelength scale, opening up a wide range of applications, from electronics to nanomedicine.

The recent advances in nanofabrication techniques have propelled the field of nanophotonics, fostering a paradigm shift in our understanding and manipulation of light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. From single molecule spectroscopy to scanning near-field optical microscopy, these advancements have expanded the borders of biophotonics, optoelectronics, quantum optics, and plasmonics.

This Special Issue aims to collect the latest advancements and novel methodologies in near-field optics with the purpose of defining the future directions of nanophotonics.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research topics may include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Nanophotonics;
  • Scanning near-field optical microscopy;
  • Photonic materials and technology;
  • Surface-enhanced spectroscopy;
  • Plasmonics and nanophotonics;
  • Theoretical modeling: material properties, device technologies, and integrated systems;
  • Fundamentals of light–matter interaction at the nanoscale;
  • Advanced imaging techniques;
  • Biophotonics and biomedical optics.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Angela Capocefalo
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • near-field optics
  • nanophotonics
  • scanning near-field optical microscopy
  • biophotonics
  • plasmonics
  • optoelectronics
  • surface-enhanced spectroscopy

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 7674 KiB  
Article
Multilayer Metamaterials with Vertical Cavities for High-Efficiency Transmittance with Metallic Components in the Visible Spectrum
by Huiyu Li, Lin Zhao, Guangwei Chen, Guoqing Hu and Zhehai Zhou
Photonics 2024, 11(10), 956; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11100956 - 11 Oct 2024
Viewed by 590
Abstract
Metasurfaces are opening promising flexibilities to reshape the wavefront of electromagnetic waves. Notable optical phenomena are observed with the tailored surface plasmon, which is excited by metallic components in the visible spectrum. However, metamaterial or metasurface devices utilizing metallic materials encounter the challenge [...] Read more.
Metasurfaces are opening promising flexibilities to reshape the wavefront of electromagnetic waves. Notable optical phenomena are observed with the tailored surface plasmon, which is excited by metallic components in the visible spectrum. However, metamaterial or metasurface devices utilizing metallic materials encounter the challenge of low transmission efficiency, particularly within the visible spectrum. This study proposes a multilayer design strategy to enhance their transmission efficiency. By incorporating additional metal layers for improvements in the transmission efficiency and dielectric layers as spacers, cavities are formed along the propagation direction, enabling the modulation of transmittance and reflection through a process mimicking destructive interference. An analytical model simplified with the assumption of deep-subwavelength-thick metal layers is proposed to predict the structural parameters with optimized transmittance. Numerical studies employing the rigorous coupled wave analysis method confirmed that the additional metal layers significantly improve the transmittance. The introduction of the extra metal and dielectric layers enhances the transmission efficiency in specific spectral regions, maintaining a controllable passband and transmittance. The results indicate that the precise control over the layers’ thicknesses facilitates the modulation of peak-to-valley ratios and the creation of comb-like filters, which can be further refined through controlled random variation in the thickness. Furthermore, when the thickness of the silver layer followed an arithmetic sequence, a multilayer structure with a transmittance of approximately 80% covering the entire visible spectrum could be achieved. Significantly, the polarization extinction ratio and the phase delay of the incident beams could still be modulated by adjusting the geometrical structure and parameters of the multilayer metamaterial for diversified functionalities. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Near-Field Optics: Fundamentals and Applications)
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Review

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13 pages, 2893 KiB  
Review
Scanning Near-Field Optical Microscopy: Recent Advances in Disordered and Correlated Disordered Photonics
by Nicoletta Granchi
Photonics 2024, 11(8), 734; https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics11080734 - 6 Aug 2024
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Abstract
Disordered and correlated disordered photonic materials have emerged in the past few decades and have been rapidly proposed as a complementary alternative to ordered photonics. These materials have thrived in the field of photonics, revealing the considerable impact of disorder with and without [...] Read more.
Disordered and correlated disordered photonic materials have emerged in the past few decades and have been rapidly proposed as a complementary alternative to ordered photonics. These materials have thrived in the field of photonics, revealing the considerable impact of disorder with and without structural correlations on the scattering, transport, and localization of light in matter. Scanning near-field optical microscopy (SNOM) has proven to be a fundamental tool for the study of the interaction between light and matter at the nanoscale in such systems, allowing for the investigation of optical properties and local electromagnetic fields with extremely high spatial resolution, surpassing the diffraction limit of conventional optical microscopy. In this review, the most important and recent advances obtained for disordered and correlated disordered luminescent structures by means of the aperture SNOM technique are addressed, showing how it allows the tailoring of local density of states (LDOS), as well as providing access to statistical analysis for multi-resonance disordered and hyperuniform disordered structures at telecom wavelengths. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Advances in Near-Field Optics: Fundamentals and Applications)
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