Photonic submicron-structures. Effective media for high-performance applications

Progress in the development of lithographic fabrication technologies and their availability for optical applications has moved their use for the realization of novel gratings into the focus of modern optics. Only lithography opens the flexibility to generate almost arbitrary grating patterns and thus make the full potential of grating functions accessible. In particular, the dedicated use of sub-wavelength patterns opens up novel grating functionalities and applications.