Light-matter interactions mediated by nanoscale confinement in plasmonic resonators

Plasmonic resonators are nanosized metallic antennas that convert electromagnetic waves at optical frequencies into localized fields, providing an effective route to couple photons in and out of nanoscale volumes. This unique ability makes these nanostructures excellent tools to study and manipulate light-matter interaction at the nanoscale. The strong coupling of a plasmonic resonator to light, resulting in optical cross-sections of more than 10 times the particle's physical size, is driven by collective oscillations of the conduction electrons in the metal - the so-called surface plasmon resonances.