Introduction to nanophotonics – Institute of Transport and Automation Technology

Nanophotonics studies how light behaves at the nanoscale, and how to engineer the properties of light by exploiting its exotic interaction with nanostructures. The course will focus on the theoretical foundations of nanophotonic systems, such as plasmonic nanoantennas, dielectric resonators, metasurfaces, metamaterials, and photonic crystals. The course is enriched with the use of simulation software for nanophotonics.

After successfully completing the module, students are able to
(Qualification goals)
- Understand the optical properties of dielectric/metals and the theory of surface plasmons.
- Understand the theory of the scattering of light by a sphere (Mie theory) and multipoles and apply it to generic nanostructures.
- Understand metasurfaces/metamaterials/photonic crystals and design such systems for light manipulation.
- Understand some numerical techniques and use simulation software for nanophotonics modelling.

Module content
- Optical properties of matter, fundamentals of plasmonics.
- Light scattering by metallic and dielectric nanostructures.
- Metasurfaces, metamaterials and photonic crystals.
- Numerical techniques and simulation software for nanophotonic systems.
- Selected topics of current research.