  We introduce strongly-coupled optical gap antennas to interface optical
radiation with current-carrying electrons at the nanoscale. The transducer
relies on the nonlinear optical and electrical properties of an optical antenna
operating in the tunneling regime. We discuss the underlying physical
mechanisms controlling the conversion and demonstrate that a two-wire optical
antenna can provide advanced optoelectronic functionalities beyond tailoring
the electromagnetic response of a single emitter. Interfacing an electronic
command layer with a nanoscale optical device may thus be facilitated by the
optical rectennas discussed here.
