"Optical antennas are analogs of their radiowave and microwave counterparts, and can be defined as devices that serve to efficiently convert free-propagating optical radiation to localized energy, and vice-versa. Colloidal metal nanoparticles with their strong plasmonic optical response offer a convenient realization of optical antennas. Such nanoparticle antennas serve to spatially enhance and localize fields, and modify the excitation rate and the radiative decay rate when placed close to single emitters (molecules, quantum dots, etc.). In addition, they can also cause undesirable losses, leading to an increase in the non-radiative decay rates of these emitters. This interplay of rates can lead to a strong modification of the emission characteristics over the intrinsic behavior. We study photoemission from single emitters coupled to antennas of different geometries made from colloidal metal nanoparticles. We demonstrate enhancements of fluorescence from single quantum emitters by a factor 10 to 100, with the highest enhancements resulting for molecules with very low intrinsic quantum yields. Such enhancements afford an improvement in resolution for fluorescence imaging down to [lambda]/40. We also investigate changes to fluorescence blinking of a colloidal quantum dots (QD) coupled to an antenna, as a function of antenna-QD distance. We find that power-law blinking is preserved unaltered even as the antenna drastically modifies the excitonic decay rate in the QD, and reduces the blinking probability. This resilience of the power-law to change provides evidence that blinking statistics are not swayed by environment-induced variations in kinetics, and offers clues towards identifying the as-yet unknown mechanism behind universal fluorescence intermittency. Finally, in analogy with traditional electromagnetic antennas, we excite prototypical optical antennas using electrons (current) instead of photons (fields). We excite localized plasmons using low energy tunneling electrons, which are then converted to propagating far-field photons. We demonstrate electrically excited photon emission from a smooth gold film, an extended gold nanowire and from isolated gold nanoparticles. We thus show that electron tunneling provides a non-optical, voltage-controlled and low-energy pathway for photoemission on the nanoscale"--Page vi-vii.

This book brings together reviews by internationally renowed experts on quantum optics and photonics. It describes novel experiments at the limit of single photons, and presents advances in this emerging research area. It also includes reprints and historical descriptions of some of the first pioneering experiments at a single-photon level and nonlinear optics, performed before the inception of lasers and modern light detectors, often with the human eye serving as a single-photon detector. The book comprises 19 chapters, 10 of which describe modern quantum photonics results, including single-photon sources, direct measurement of the photon's spatial wave function, nonlinear interactions and non-classical light, nanophotonics for room-temperature single-photon sources, time-multiplexed methods for optical quantum information processing, the role of photon statistics in visual perception, light-by-light coherent control using metamaterials, nonlinear nanoplasmonics, nonlinear polarization optics, and ultrafast nonlinear optics in the mid-infrared.

This project is focused on antenna-coupled photon emission from single quantum emitters. The properties of optical antennas are tailored to control different photophysical parameters, such as the excited state lifetime, the saturation intensity, and the quantum yield [3]. Using a single molecule coupled to an optical antenna whose position and properties can be controllably adjusted we established a detailed and quantitative understanding of light-matter interactions in nanoscale environments. We have studied various quantum emitters: single molecules [11], quantum dots [7], rareearth ions [2], and NV centers in diamond [19]. We have systematically studied the interaction of these emitters with optical antennas. The overall objective was to establish a high-level of control over the light-matter interaction. In order to eliminate the coupling to the environment, we have taken a step further and explored the possibility of levitating the quantum emitter in high vacuum. What started as a side-project soon became a main activity in our research program and led us to the demonstration of vacuum trapping and cooling of a nanoscale particle [14].

This consistent and systematic review of recent advances in optical antenna theory and practice brings together leading experts in the fields of electrical engineering, nano-optics and nano-photonics, physical chemistry and nanofabrication. Fundamental concepts and functionalities relevant to optical antennas are explained, together with key principles for optical antenna modelling, design and characterisation. Recognising the tremendous potential of this technology, practical applications are also outlined. Presenting a clear translation of the concepts of radio antenna design, near-field optics and field-enhanced spectroscopy into optical antennas, this interdisciplinary book is an indispensable resource for researchers and graduate students in engineering, optics and photonics, physics and chemistry.

This multidisciplinary book provides up-to-date coverage of carrier and spin dynamics and energy transfer and structural interaction among nanostructures. Coverage also includes current device applications such as quantum dot lasers and detectors, as well as future applications to quantum information processing. The book will serve as a reference for anyone working with or planning to work with quantum dots.

Fully revised and in its second edition, this standard reference on nano-optics is ideal for graduate students and researchers alike.

This book presents the latest theoretical studies giving new predictions and interpretations on the quantum correlation in molecular dynamics induced by ultrashort laser pulses. The author quantifies the amount of correlation in terms of entanglement by employing methods developed in quantum information science, in particular applied to the photoionization of a hydrogen molecule. It is also revealed that the photoelectron–ion correlation affects the vibrational dynamics of the molecular ion and induces the attosecond-level time delay in the molecular vibration. Furthermore, the book also presents how molecular vibration can couple to photons in a plasmoic nanocavity. Physicists and chemists interested in the ultrafast molecular dynamics would be the most relevant readers. They can learn how we can employ the quantum-information-science tools to understand the correlation in the molecular dynamics and why we should consider the correlation between the photoelectron and the molecular ion to describe the ion’s dynamics. They can also learn how to treat a molecule coupled to photons in a nanocavity. All the topics are related to the state-of-the-art experiments, and so, it is important to publish these results to enhance the understanding and to induce new experiments to confirm the theory presented.