The strength of this book is its deft combination of an exposition of the basic principles of nanophotonics and an illustration of the applications of this technology. For the latter, attention is given to lighting, photovoltaics and sensors. The book treats a broad range of material platforms including colloidal materials and silicon photonics as well as as the more familiar III-V semiconductor photonics. In considering emerging areas of nanophotonics, the authors treat metamaterials and bio-inspired nanophotonics.
The approach is to offer the physical essentials of the topics under consideration rather than attempt to examine every detail. Understanding is greatly enhanced by many excellent diagrams and figures. Problems are included so that the reader may test their understanding. Further reading and references are also included in each chapter.
Those readers who require a more in depth understanding of the underlying physics than is offered here could well refer to Introduction to Nanophotonics, a previous work by the first author of the present volume. A common feature of these books is an effort to show the historical context of the work, specifically by including pen-portraits and actual portraits of key players who have advanced important themes in the field. In this respect, we learn that Michael Faraday reported work on nano-optics to the Royal Society in 1857. So the field is actually quite old!
Review by K. Alan Shore, Bangor University, U.K.
The opinions expressed in the book review section are those of the reviewer and do not necessarily reflect those of OPN or OSA.