Optical antennas as nanoscale resonators

Abstract

Recent progress in nanotechnology has enabled us to fabricate sub-wavelength architectures that function as antennas for improving the exchange of optical energy with nanoscale matter. We describe the main features of optical antennas for enhancing quantum emitters and review the designs that increase the spontaneous emission rate by orders of magnitude from the ultraviolet up to the near-infrared spectral range. To further explore how optical antennas may lead to unprecedented regimes of light–matter interactions, we draw a relationship between metal nanoparticles, radio-wave antennas and optical resonators. Our analysis points out how optical antennas may function as nanoscale resonators and how these may offer unique opportunities with respect to state-of-the-art microcavities.