Plasmonic Effects in Metal-Semiconductor Nanostructures. By Alexey A. Toropov and Tatiana V. Shubina. Oxford University Press, 2015. Pp. 384. Price GBP 75.00. ISBN 9780199699315.

Plasmonics is a field of study that explores the interaction of light waves and metallic surfaces, and the resulting electron density waves that can be generated from this interaction. The resulting electron density wave that propagates along the surface of the metal is referred to as a surface plasmon polariton, or a surface plasmon. Surface plasmons present many applications. They can be used to control colours of materials, as illustrated by the historic stained glass of medieval cathedrals. In this case, the colour is given by metal nanoparticles which interact with light. Surface plasmons also play a role in Wood’s anomalies in light reflection from a metal diffraction grating, observed in 1902, or in surface-enhanced Raman scattering, observed in 1974. Later, the field of plasmonics exploded when it was shown that tiny metallic structures can enable optical circuitry at the nanoscale, and that an array of nanoscale holes in a thin metal film can exhibit extraordinary optical transmission. New exciting pathways to control light in ultra-compact geometries have been opened by implementation of active plasmonic devices in addition to passive metallic lightconcentration structures. Among these recent achievements are plasmonic nanolasers or spasers, as well as plasmon-enhanced light-emitting diodes, detectors, solar cells and single quantum emitters. All these applications rely on the effects of light-matter coupling in nanostructures, including semiconductors and metals, or other conducting materials such as degenerate semiconductors, semimetals or graphene. Furthermore, strong coupling between surface plasmons and excitons has been observed in plasmonic cavity structures, including both organic and inorganic semiconductors. The book Plasmonic effects in metal-semiconductor nanostructures focuses on the performance of plasmonics related to semiconductor metal nanostructures. The purpose is to give a general view of electromagnetic and quantum phenomena emerging in metalsemiconductor plasmonic structures, ranging from basic physical theory to the practical engineering applications such as single-photons sources, nanolasers, ultra-compact modulators, and so on. After a first chapter which describes the milestones of plasmonics and the scope of the book, the content is divided into three parts. The first part (fundamentals) starts with the foundations of metal-semiconductor plasmonics. It contains general information on plasmonic effects in metal structures, as well as electronic and optical properties of semiconductor structures, acting as building blocks of the devices of active plasmonics. The second part (materials) describes characteristics of particular materials, both conducting and semiconducting, which can be of value for the design of hybrid plasmonic structures. The third part (metal-semiconductor nanostructures) describes the existing theoretical approaches to the description of light-matter coupling in metal-semiconductor structures and presents proof-of-concept experimental observations. This part is essentially devoted to the practical applications of active plasmonics. Chapter 2 (electrodynamics of metal structures) outlines basic ideas and definitions of classical electrodynamics, focusing on the propagation of plane waves, the boundary conditions between two media, and the derivation of the dielectric function of the free electron gas in the framework of the Lorentz oscillator model and the Drude theory. A detailed presentation of the various types of plasmons is given, including the bulk ISSN 2052-5206