Patent ID: 8357980

Claim:
A photonic device comprising: a dielectric layer having a top surface and a bottom surface, the bottom surface of the dielectric layer disposed on a surface of a substrate; a planar nanowire network covering at least a portion of the top surface of the dielectric layer, the planar nanowire network to convert incident electromagnetic radiation into surface plasmons that form between the planar nanowire network and the dielectric layer, and the dielectric layer having a thickness that enables the surface plasmons to penetrate through the dielectric layer and into at least a portion of the substrate; a number of radial nanowires, each radial nanowire extends outward from a central region of the planar nanowire network; and a number of transverse nanowires, each transverse nanowire connects two adjacent radial nanowires, wherein the planar nanowire network has radial symmetry.