Plasmonics is fast becoming a dominant technology for the 21st century. The classical text by H. Raether appeared in 1988, but the potential of surface plasmons remained inactive for a decade. It is now recognized that surface plasmons, which may be present on particulate, smooth or corrugated metal surfaces, have enormous potential in the fields of optical computing, novel optical devices and, more recently, biological and medical research. These emerging applications are the result of the unique properties of surface plasmons, which are confined to a two-dimensional surface and can have dimensions considerably smaller than optical wavelengths. The superficial plasmons can be controlled, to a reasonable extent, in two dimensions, trapping and transporting optical energy in nanoscale structures. At first glance, this possibility seems similar to optical wavelengths. However, typical optical waveguides, unlike plasmon devices, must be three dimensional and have wavelength size characteristics. In addition, the two-dimensional nature of the plasmonic structures makes them compatible with the modern lithographic methods used for the preparation of integrated circuits.
The launch of Plasmonics is the culmination of two years of hard work by people from all over the world. The editorial committee and the regional editors represent the world experts in the science of plasmonics. All of these scientists are internationally recognized in their respective fields of plasmonics and clearly describe the future direction and the high level of scientific integrity that will apply to the manuscripts published in Plasmonics. Subsequently, we thank the editorial board and the regional editors for their time, support and continued efforts. We especially thank these people for their enthusiasm in the creation of this magazine.