Optical Characterization of Plasmonic Nanostructures: Near-Field Imaging of the Magnetic Field of Light (1st ed. 2016 edition.)

This thesis focuses on a means of obtaining, for the first time, full electromagnetic imaging of photonic nanostructures.

The author also develops a unique practical simulation framework which is used to confirm the results.

The development of innovative photonic devices and metamaterials with tailor-made functionalities depends critically on our capability to characterize them and understand the underlying light-matter interactions.

Thus, imaging all components of the electromagnetic light field at nanoscale resolution is of paramount importance in this area.

This challenge is answered by demonstrating experimentally that a hollow-pyramid aperture probe SNOM can directly image the horizontal magnetic field of light in simple plasmonic antennas - rod, disk and ring.

These results are confirmed by numerical simulations, showing that the probe can be approximated, to first order, by a magnetic point-dipole source.

This approximation substantially reduces the simulation time and complexity and facilitates the otherwise controversial interpretation of near-field images.

The validated technique is used to study complex plasmonic antennas and to explore new opportunities for their engineering and characterization.