Nanometre sized structures made of semiconductors, insulators, and metals and grown by modern growth technologies or by chemical synthesis exhibit novel electronic and optical phenomena due to the confinement of electrons and photons. Strong interactions between electrons and photons in narrow regions lead to inhibited spontaneous emission, thresholdless laser operation, and Bose-Einstein condensation of exciton-polaritons in microcavities. Generation of sub-wavelength radiation by surface plasmon-polaritons at metal-semiconductor interfaces, creation of photonic band gaps in dielectrics, and realization of nanometer sized semiconductor or insulator structures with negative permittivity and permeability, known as metamaterials, are further examples in the area of Nanophotonics. The studies help develop spasers and plasmonic nanolasers of subwavelength dimensions, paving the way to use plasmonics in future data centres and high-speed computers working at THz bandwidth with less than a few fJ/bit dissipation. The present book is aimed at graduate students and researchers providing them with an introductory textbook on Semiconductor Nanophotonics. It gives an introduction to electron-photon interactions in Quantum Wells, Wires, and Dots and then discusses the processes in microcavities, photonic band gap materials, metamaterials, and related applications. The phenomena and device applications under strong light-matter interactions are discussed, mostly by using classical and semi-classical theories. Numerous examples and problems accompany each chapter.

Preface Acknowledgements Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1: Introduction to Nanophotonics 1.2: Nanophotonics : Scope 1.3: Introduction to Nanostructures 1.4: Novel Phenomena in Nanophotonics: A Brief Outline 1.5: Applications of Nanophotonics 1.6: Problems of Integration Chapter 2: Basic Properties of Semiconductors 2.1: Introduction 2.2: Band Structure 2.3: Density of States 2.4: Doping 2.5: Carrier Concentration 2.6: Carrier Concentration 2.7: Excess Carriers and Recombination 2.8: Excitons 2.9: Alloys and Heterojunctions 2.10: Quantum Structures 2.11: Strained Layers Chapter 3: Macroscopic Theory of Optical Processes 3.1: Introduction 3.2: Optical Constants 3.3: Phase and Group Velocities 3.4: Susceptibility of a Material: a Classical Model 3.5: Einstein's Model for Light-Matter Interaction Chapter 4: Photons and Electron-photon Interactions 4.1: Introduction 4.2: Wave Equation in a Rectangular Cavity 4.3: Quantization of the Radiation Field 4.4: Time Dependent Perturbation Theory 4.5: Interaction of an Electron with the Electromagnetic Field 4.6: Second Order Perturbation Theory Chapter 5: Electron Photon Interactions in Bulk Semiconductors 5.1: Introduction 5.2: Absorption Processes in Semiconductors 5.3: Fundamental Absorption in Direct gap 5.4: Intervalence Band Absorption 5.5: Free Carrier Absorption 5.6: Recombination and Luminescence 5.7: NonradiativeRecombination 5.8: Carrier Effect on Absorption and Refractive Index 5.9: Gain in Semiconductors Chapter 6: Optical Processes in QWs 6.1: Introduction 6.2: Optical Processes in QWs 6.3: Interband Absorption 6.4: Intersubband Absorption 6.5: Recombination in QWs 6.6: Loss Processes in QWs 6.7: Gain in QWs 6.8: Strained QW Lasers Chapter 7: Excitons in Bulk Semiconductors and QWs 7.1: Introduction 7.2: Excitons in Bulk Semiconductors 7.3: Excitonic Processes in QWs 7.4: Line Broadening Mechanisms for 2D Excitons 7.5: Effect of Electric Field in Semiconductors 7.6: Excitonic Characteristics in Fractional Dimensional Space Chapter 8: Nanowires 8.1: Introduction 8.2: Quantum Wires: Preliminaries 8.3: Excitonic Processes in QWRs 8.4: Classification of Nanowires 8.5: Growth of QWRs 8.6: Nanowires 8.7: Properties of NWRs 8.8: Applications of NWRs Chapter 9: Nanoparticles 9.1: Introduction 9.2: Quantum Dots 9.3: QD Growth Mechanisms and Structures 9.4: Zero Dimensional Systems 9.5: Deviation from Simple Theory: Effect of Broadening 9.6: QD Lasers : Structure and Gain Calculation 9.7: Intersubband Transitions 9.8: Excitonic Processes in QDs 9.9: Classification of Nanocrystals 9.10: Synthesis of Nanocrystals 9.11: Core-Shell Structures 9.12: Bright and Dark Excitons 9.13: Biexcitons and Trions 9.14: Applications Chapter 10: Microcavity 10.1: Introduction 10.2: Cavity Fundamentals 10.3: Fabry-Perot Resonators 10.4: Bragg Gratings and Bragg Mirrors 10.5: Ring Resonators 10.6: Whispering Gallery Mode Resonators 10.7: Wave Propagation in Periodic Structures: Photonic Crystals 10.8: Micropillar 10.9: Characteristics of Microcavity Chapter 11: Cavity Quantum Elecrodynamics 11.1: Introduction 11.2: Zero-Point Energy and Vacuum Field 11.3: Control of Spontaneous Emission 11.4: Mode Density in Ideal Cavities 11.5: Experimental Observation of Purcell Effect 11.6: Strong Light-Matter Coupling 11.7: Jaynes-Cummins Model 11.8: Microcavities in CQED Experiments 11.9: Applications 11.10: Microcavity Laser Chapter 12: Bose Einstein Condensation 12.1: Introduction 12.2: Elements of Bose Einstein Condensation 12.3: BEC in Semiconductors 12.4: Bulk Excitons 12.5: Indirect Excitons in Coupled QWs 12.6: Polariton 12.7: Polariton Lasers 12.8: Modeling of Electrically Driven Polariton Laser Chapter 13: Surface Plasmons 13.1: Introduction 13.2: Basic Concepts 13.3: Surface Plasmon Polaritons at Metal/Insulator Interfaces 13.4: Excitation Mechanism 13.5: Materials 13.6: Length Scales in Noble Metals 13.7: Metal-insulator Based Plasmonics-photonics 13.8: All Semiconductor Plasmonics 13.9: Plasmonic Properties of Semiconductors 13.10: Components: source, modulators, waveguides, detector 13.11: Application of Plasmonics in VLSI, Data Centres and Supercomputers 13.12: Applications of Surface Plasmons in Basic Science and Characterization 13.13: Intersubband Plasmons Chapter 14: Spasers and Plasmonic Nanolasers 14.1: Introduction 14.2: Early Investigations on SP Amplification 14.3: Models for Noginov et al Experiment 14.4: Semiconductor Spasers and Plasmonic Nanolasers 14.5: Theoretical Models by Khurgin and Sun 14.6: Current Theoretical Models and Experiments 14.7: Further Developments Chapter 15: Optical Metamaterials 15.1: Introduction 15.2: Left Handed Material with Negative RI 15.3: Structures for Microwaves 15.4: Perfect Lens 15.5: NIR with Positive Permittivity and Permeability 15.6: Low Loss Plasmonic Metamaterial 15.7: Semiconductor Metamaterials 15.8: Metasurfaces 15.9: Beam Steering Chapter 16: Nanolasers 16.1: Introduction 16.2: Parameters of Lasers 16.3: Progress in Nanolasers 16.4: Threshold Pump Power of Nanolasers: Purcell Effect 16.5: Intrinsic Merit of Nanolasers 16.6: Optical Interconnect 16.7: Metal Based Nanolasers