BOSTONUNIVERSITYCOLLEGEOFENGINEERINGDissertationENGINEERINGPHOTONICANDPLASMONICLIGHTEMISSIONENHANCEMENTbyNATHANIELLAWRENCEB.S.,UniversityofRichmond,2008M.S.,BostonUniversity,2012SubmittedinpartialfulfillmentoftherequirementsforthedegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy2013Qc2013byNATHANIELLAWRENCEAllrightsreservedexceptforChap-ter4whichisQc2010byOp-ticalSocietyofAmerica,Chap-ter7,Sections8.1and8.3whichareQc2012byOpticalSocietyofAmerica,Chapter6andSection8.4whichareQc2012byAmeri-canInstituteofPhysicsandChap-ter5whichisQc2013byAmericanChemicalSocietyApprovedbyFirstReaderLucaDalNegro,PhDAssociateProfessorofElectricalandComputerEngineeringSecondReaderJonathanKlamkin,PhDAssistantProfessorofElectricalandComputerEngineeringThirdReaderAnnaSwan,PhDAssociateProfessorofElectricalandComputerEngineeringFourthReaderSiddharthRamachandran,PhDAssociateProfessorofElectricalandComputerEngineeringThesolutionsareallsimple...afteryou’vealreadyarrivedatthem.Butthey’resimpleonlywhenyoualreadyknowwhattheyare.-RobertPirsig,ZenandtheArtofMotorcycleMaintenancevAcknowledgmentsFirst,Iwouldliketothankmyadvisor,Prof.LucaDalNegro.Withouthisdailyinputthisworkwouldnothavebeenpossible.Whetheritwashoursspentpouringovertextbooksanddataortroubleshootingcodeandexperimentshemaintainedahighlevelofinvolvementinallaspectsofmywork.IwouldalsoliketothanktheNSFforfundingmytimeingraduateschoolthroughtheNSFCareerAward(No.ECCS-0846651).Additionally,athankyouisduetothemembersofmycommittee,Prof.JonathanKlamkin,Prof.AnnaSwanandProf.SiddharthRamachandranfortheirvaluableassistanceandfeedbackonthisthesis.IwouldalsoliketothankthemembersoftheNanomaterialsandNanostructureOp-ticslabgroup,bothpastandpresent,whohavebeenthereonadailybasistolearnwithme,workthroughproblemsand,attimes,commiseratefailures.Theirimportanceissuchthattheyshouldbenamedindividuallysothankyou,JacobTrevino,Dr.EmanuelePecora,Dr.GaryWalsh,Dr.SvetlanaBoriskina,Dr.CarloForestiere,TravisRich,Dr.AlyssaPasquale,Dr.SylvanusLee,Dr.SelcukYerci,Dr.RuiLi,Dr.AshwinGopinath,AlexHandin,Dr.AntonioCapretti,PatrickGregg,DianminLin,YuWang,GiulianaDiMartinoandTomMurphy.IwouldnextliketothankcollaboratorsIhaveworkedwiththroughoutthecomple-tionofmydegree.IhadtheopportunitytoworkatLawrenceBerkeleyNationallabsforsometimewhichwasanexcellentexperience.IwouldliketothankDr.StefanoCabriniandothermembersoftheMolecularFoundryfortheirassistance.ThankyoutoProf.AlexanderSergienko,Dr.DavidSimonandAndrewFraine,whoworkedwithusonapplicationsofVogelspiralOAMforsecureopticalcommunication.Also,IwouldliketothankDr.AlessiaIrreraandProf.FrancescoPriolowhocollaboratedwithusonSinanowirework.Finally,IwouldliketothankDr.FrancescaIntonti,NiccoloCaselliandProf.DiederikWiersmawhocollaboratedwithustoinvestigatethenearfieldscatteringviofVogelspirals.Next,Iwouldliketothankthestaffandotherstudentsofthephotonicscenterwho’seffortskeepthefacilitiesIhavereliedonforthelast5yearsrunning.InparticularPaulMakhasdonehasanamazingjobofkeepingtheOptoelectronicProcessingFacilityrunningandisalwaysquicktorespondtoanyissuesthatarise.Additionally,athankyouisowedtoAlketMirteri,RonenAdatoandAlexReddingtonfortheirassistanceandguidancebothascolleaguesandmoreimportantlyasfriends.Lastbutcertainlynotleast,Iwouldliketothankmyfriendsandfamilywhohavebeenincrediblysupportiveofallmyefforts.Firstmyparentsandmysister,Iloveyou,thankyouforalwaysbeingthere.Nex...
