Nanophotonics: From Quantum Confinement to Collective Interactions in Metamaterial Heterostructures

Abstract

Nanophotonic materials have unique properties that are due to behavior on the quantum scale, as well as properties that emerge due to collective interactions within the system. These collective interactions may include complex quasiparticle interactions as well as structural coupling in the device, at an interfacial boundary in a heterostructure, for example. Physical properties of nanophotonic materials may be modeled with a high degree of accuracy, provided that the technique used takes into account both properties on the atomistic scale as well as the continuum, as well as bridging this hierarchal gap. This chapter details the theory and modeling techniques involved in creating accurate and predictive models for nanophotonic materials.