Light in tiny holes

The presence of tiny holes in an opaque metal film, with sizes smaller than the wavelength of incident light, leads to a wide variety of unexpected optical properties such as strongly enhanced transmission of light through the holes and wavelength filtering. These intriguing effects are now known to...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Nature 2007-01, Vol.445 (7123), p.39-46
Main Authors: Genet, C, Ebbesen, T. W
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biophysics
Electronics
Exact sciences and technology
Filtering
Filtration
Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications)
Humanities and Social Sciences
Light
Metal films
Metals
Micro- and nanooptical devices
multidisciplinary
Optical properties
Optics
Optoelectronics
Physics
review-article
Science
Science (multidisciplinary)
Wave optics
Wave propagation, transmission and absorption
Wavelengths
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Description
Summary:The presence of tiny holes in an opaque metal film, with sizes smaller than the wavelength of incident light, leads to a wide variety of unexpected optical properties such as strongly enhanced transmission of light through the holes and wavelength filtering. These intriguing effects are now known to be due to the interaction of the light with electronic resonances in the surface of the metal film, and they can be controlled by adjusting the size and geometry of the holes. This knowledge is opening up exciting new opportunities in applications ranging from subwavelength optics and optoelectronics to chemical sensing and biophysics.
ISSN:0028-0836
1476-4687
1476-4679
DOI:10.1038/nature05350