Nonlinear Optics at Reduced Dimensions

When the light interacts with low-dimensional systems, new optical phenomena can arise because of the reduced dimensionality. Classic examples include discrete electronic energy levels quantum dots or plasmon resonances of metallic nanoparticles. In addition to the dimensionality or shape, the light-matter interaction can be further tuned by using optical nonlinearities. Typically, the induced polarization currents depend linearly on the intensity of the radiation field. However, when the linear relationship breaks down new interesting phenomena arise like frequency conversion or intensity dependent refractive index. We combine these new possibilities with the interesting properties of the low - dimensional systems and demonstrate potential for applications ranging from sub-diffraction resolution imaging to on-chip frequency conversion.