Principles of Nano-Optics

The goal of this course is to help students build an intuition for light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, especially when optically active elements are located near complex surfaces. The course will begin with a review of the theoretical foundations of macroscopic electrodynamics, but will continue on to discuss specific experimental techniques for investigating microscopic behavior. Topics will include near-field optical microscopy, quantum dots and single molecule spectroscopy, surface plasmon polaritons, local density of states, and photonic crystals.