Guiding of electromagnetic energy in subwavelength periodic metal structures

The ultimate miniaturization of optical devices requires structures that guide electromagnetic energy with a lateral confinement below the diffraction limit of light. In this thesis, the possibility of employing plasmon-polariton excitations in „plasmon waveguides“ consisting of closely spaced metal nanoclusters for this purpose is examined. The feasibility of energy transport with mode sizes below the diffraction limit of visible light over distances of several hundred nanometers is demonstrated. ...