Light Propagation in Nanostructured Metamaterials and Micro-Resonators

Nanoscale light confinement and guiding are new growing areas of modern research with potential applications in nearfield microscopy compact optoelectronics all-optical circuitry and integrated photonics. This book introduces readers to anisotropy-based metamaterial approach for focusing and guiding light in the nano-domain and discusses a spectrum of phenomena specific to light propagation in nanostructures. The methods of design and unique properties of metamaterial waveguides such as fiber compatibility virtual absence of mode cutoff and negative refractive index are described. The novel phenomena brought by extreme light confinement are explained and new frontiers for dispersion engineering and extraordinary slow-to-superluminal control over the group velocity of pulses are illustrated. As a separate discussion the light scattering from asymmetric ratchet-shaped microstructures is presented. Seemingly unrelated to nano-guides this topic naturally fits into the same mathematical framework and addresses new phenomena in wave-chaotic resonators. The material is presented in a simple usable form with an accent on in-house simulations and is easily accessible to non-theorists.