S E M I N A R 

Carlos Javier Zapata Rodriguez  

 University of Valencia  

NON-DIFFRACTIVE BEAMS IN PLASMONICS 

Ponedeljak, 27 avgust, 2012 g. u 13:15 h u biblioteci Instituta 

LECTURE SUMMARY: The control of light propagation and localization on a sub-wavelength scale is one of the key challenges in applied physics. Concerning this issue, surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) in metallic nanostructures are especially versatile optical excitations. An efficient transformation of traveling delocalized SPPs into highly localized excitations is therefore of central importance to achieve bright illumination in confined volumes. We are particularly interested in focus wave modes, i.e. localized wave fields whose transverse distribution of intensity is conserved is spite of diffraction. In this lecture we review our recent results on Bessel beams driven by SPPs. This sort of diffraction-free beams will be thoroughly compared with others encountered in plasmonic devices, like Airy beams and self-guiding wave fields. In addition, we introduce novel dyakonon > wave packets exhibiting subdiffractive propagation features. Finally, we will discuss some potential applications in electron acceleration, biosensing, nanocircuitry and optical-electronic interconnects, near-field optical microscopy, and optical trapping.