Nanophotonics is an emerging multidisciplinary field that deals with light-matter interactions on the nanoscale. Recent progress in nanophotonics has created new and exciting technological opportunities. The interaction of light with nanoscale matter can provide unique functionality for photonic devices, and render unique information about their structural and dynamical properties, enabling enormous numbers of new applications.

Biophotonics is an exciting multidisciplinary science of using light to understand the inner workings of cells and tissues in living organisms. Applications of biophotonics range from using light to trap and manipulate cells, selectively treat tumors, to sequencing DNA and identifying single molecules within cells. Current major challenges for biophotonics are: molecular scale imaging in living cells; identification of single abnormal cells among health ones; understanding of DNA damage and repair; sequencing of single DNA and non-invasive medical diagnosis and optical therapy.

Nanomaterials characterization and metrology is one of the most important applications of nanophotonics. Recent rapid advances in nano-fabrication severely stretched the capabilities of optical characterization and metrology tools. New optical nanoscale imaging tools that can provide spatially resolved optical, electrical, mechanical, and elemental analysis capabilities will significantly benefit areas such as the nanomaterials synthesis and next generation IC fabrication.