Tailoring optical complex fields with nano-metallic surfaces

Recently there is an increasing interest in complex optical fields with spatially inhomogeneous state of polarizations and optical singularities. Novel effects and phenomena have been predicted and observed for light beams with these unconventional states. Nanostructured metallic thin film offers unique opportunities to generate, manipulate and detect these novel fields. Strong interactions between nano-metallic surfaces and complex optical fields enable the development of highly compact and versatile functional devices and systems. In this review, we first briefly summarize the recent developments in complex optical fields. Various nano-metallic surface designs that can produce and manipulate complex optical fields with tailored characteristics in the optical far field will be presented. Nano-metallic surfaces are also proven to be very effective for receiving and detection of complex optical fields in the near field. Advances made in this nascent field may enable the design of novel photonic devices and systems for a variety of applications such as quantum optical information processing and integrated photonic circuits.