Photonic and plasmonic structures and devices have attracted a lot of attention during the last years, promising many scientific and technological applications, e. g. in information technology, sensing and detection, and optical data storage. Especially, the rapidly growing field of surface plasmon polaritons (SPP) promises unique integration of microelectronic devices with optics on the microscale. In this contribution, we discuss applications of advanced femtosecond laser technologies for the fabrication of high quality 2D and 3D photonic and plasmonic structures. We present our results on the construction of 3 dimensional photonic crystals by two-photon-polymerization (2PP) technique and optical characterization of these crystals. Furthermore, we show the capability of 2PP in building of 2-dimensional structures for guiding and manipulation of SPPs. Focusing of SPPs at dielectric structures fabricated by 2PP on metal surfaces is demonstrated. Waveguides, splitters, and couplers for application in plasmonics are also fabricated by this technique.
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