SPIE - Directed Energy & Metal Optics

SPIE Happens to be a sponsor of the Directed Energy Professional Society.


There are two conflicting narratives of Electromagnetics in metals:

1. The microwave circuit narrative in which metals, distributed capacitors, and distributed inductors function together in a high frequency circuit, albeit as distributed components. Here there is a rich tradition of various electromagnetic functions, including the antenna function.

2. This is countered by the optical-plasmonic narrative, in which metallic electromagnetics is thought to be dominated by plasmons, electromagnetic normal modes in which the inertia of the electrons plays a major role.
In resolving the conflict, the most exciting new opportunities arise from optical antennas, which are well-poised to change the rules of optical physics.