Phase and polarization control as a route to plasmonic nanodevices.

We extend the concepts of phase, polarization, and feedback control of matter to develop a general approach for guiding light in the nanoscale via nanoparticle arrays. The phase and polarization of the excitation source are first introduced as tools for control over the pathway of light at array intersections. Genetic algorithms are next applied as a systematic design tool, wherein both the excitation field parameters and the structural parameters of the nanoparticle array are optimized to make devices with desired functionality. Implications to research fields such as single molecule spectroscopy, spatially confined chemistry, optical logic, and nanoscale sensing are envisioned.