Review

Plasmonic nanoantennas: enhancing light-matter interactions at the nanoscale

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 68588 Lincoln, NE, USA

^* e-mail: christos.argyropoulos@unl.edu

Received: 3 September 2015
Accepted: 5 November 2015
Published online: 15 December 2015

Abstract

The research area of plasmonics promises devices with ultrasmall footprint operating at ultrafast speeds and with lower energy consumption compared to conventional electronics. These devices will operate with light and bridge the gap between microscale dielectric photonic systems and nanoscale electronics. Recent research advancements in nanotechnology and optics have led to the creation of a plethora of new plasmonic designs. Among the most promising are nanoscale antennas operating at optical frequencies, called nanoantennas. Plasmonic nanoantennas can provide enhanced and controllable light-matter interactions and strong coupling between far-field radiation and localized sources at the nanoscale. After a brief introduction of several plasmonic nanoantenna designs and their well-established radio-frequency antenna counterparts, we review several linear and nonlinear applications of different nanoantenna configurations. In particular, the possibility to tune the scattering response of linear nanoantennas and create robust optical wireless links is presented. In addition, the nonlinear and photodynamic responses of different linear and nonlinear nanoantenna systems are reported. Several future optical devices are envisioned based on these plasmonic nanoantenna configurations, such as low-power nanoswitches, compact ultrafast light sources, nanosensors and efficient energy harvesting systems.