Nanophotonics

• Published in: Micro‐ and Nanophotonic Technologies pp. 1 - 28
• Main Authors: Flory, François, Escoubas, Ludovic, Rouzo, Judikael Le, Berginc, Gérard
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim, Germany Wiley‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA 28.02.2017
• Subjects: elementary quantum; light scattering; nanophotonics; optical systems; optical wave filter functions; optoelectronic components; quantum dot
• DOI: 10.1002/9783527699940.ch1
• ISBN: 9783527340378; 3527340378

This chapter presents some concrete examples using nanophotonics concepts to make performing optoelectronic components and how this process has been implemented. Because of wave‐corpuscle duality, light's nature and its propagation can be described with a whole set of parameters. Amplitude, phase, wavelength, polarization concern the wave part, when spin, orbital momentum, or energy are used to describe the elementary quantum of light called photon. The number of photons and their energy are linked to the amplitude and the wavelength of the wave. The electrons in a quantum dot (QD) behave like in an atom with different discrete possible energies. Inspired by the antireflecting (AR) properties of moth eyes, surface structures have been studied to reduce the reflection on large wavelength ranges. Complex optical wave filter functions can be made with metamaterials. In optical systems, surface roughness induces light scattering that generally reduce their performances.