The demand for pathways to fabricate and methodologies to understand 3D structures with advanced functionalities has increased significantly over the last years. Materials exhibiting three-dimensional structure with characteristic length scales ranging from nanometers to micrometers have extraordinary potential for emerging optical and thermal applications and are of great current interest in providing new functionalities for a host of applications. The thesis is divided into two primary parts. The majority of the thesis is devoted to understanding light-matter interaction in a new class of devices termed Resonant Guided Wave Networks (RGWNs). We describe how the geometrical properties of the network of waveguides are tuned in conjunction with the materials properties to realize a collective optical response, contrary to other dispersive photonic materials where the response is limited to its discrete elements. In particular, we demonstrate a simple and efficient fabrication of MIM based complex 3D structure that offers a novel approach to optical dispersion control based on resonant structures. This is followed by a description of experiments that probe the optical response of the structures. Of particular interest are surface electromagnetic modes known as surface plasmonpolaritons (SPPs).
展开▼
