Light manipulation through periodic plasmonic corrugations

textCollective oscillations of free electrons localized in a small volume have drawn a lot of attention for the past decades. These so-called plasmons have special optical properties that can be used in many applications ranging from optical modulators to sensing of small quantities of molecules. Large numbers of extensive plasmonic applications are being based on the capability of light manipulation proposed by the periodic nanostructure and its optical response. By controlling over the way in which plasmonic modes interact with incident radiation, periodic corrugation opens up the possibility of developing new and exciting photonic devices. The goal of doctoral research presented herein is to investigate at a fundamental level of several corrugated metallic structures which may offer effective control of the optical response by coupling radiation to plasmonic modes. By controlling morphologies and material compositions, sophisticatedly engineered nanostructure may allow the coupling of electromagnetic waves into desired spectral/spatial modes in a way that an effective tuning of macroscopic optical properties in desired domain can be achieved. This dissertation is dedicated to answer the following question, if and how one can manipulate the optical responses by use of different nanostructures and various materials. Based on devised analytical models proposed for various corrugated nanostructures, we show that I. spatial and II. spectral manipulation of light can be realized. Specifically, we investigate how the grating array interacts with light. To understand those periodic nanostructures showing inherently dispersive nature, firstly the diffraction of light and accompanying effects are studied with the analytical models and numerical simulation. On this basis, we show the optical response is readily tunable, and efficiently controlled by the morphology and dielectric property of the corrugations. The outline of doctoral research is broadly categorized into (1) theoretical considerations on the topic of plasmonics, (2) specific insight in the analytical model of the various nanostructures, and (3) investigation of the plasmonic properties of the fabricated structures. Lastly, the discussion of outlook to possibilities and future experiments will close the dissertation.Electrical and Computer Engineerin