Diffractive Nanophotonics demonstrates the utility of the well-established methods of diffractive computer optics in solving nanophotonics tasks. It is concerned with peculiar properties of laser light diffraction by microoptics elements with nanoscale features and light confinement in subwavelength space regions. Written by recognized experts in this field, the book covers in detail a wide variety of advanced methods for the rigorous simulation of light diffraction. The authors apply their expertise to addressing cutting-edge problems in nanophotonics.

Chapters consider the basic equations of diffractive nanophotonics and related transformations and numerical methods for solving diffraction problems under strict electromagnetic theory. They examine the diffraction of light on two-dimensional microscopic objects of arbitrary shape and present a numerical method for solving the problem of diffraction on periodic diffractive micro- and nanostructures. This method is used in modern trends in nanophotonics, such as plasmonics, metamaterials, and nanometrology. The book describes the simulation of electromagnetic waves in nanophotonic devices and discusses two methods of calculating the spatial modes of microstructured photonic crystal fibres—a relatively new class of optical fibres with the properties of photonic crystals.

The book explains the theory of paraxial and non-paraxial laser beams with axial symmetry and an orbital angular momentum—called vortex beams—which are used for optical trapping and rotating micro- and nanoparticles in a ring in the cross-sectional plane of the beam. The final chapter discusses methods for calculating the force and torque exerted by the electromagnetic field focused onto the microparticle of arbitrary form, whose dimensions are comparable with the wavelength of light.