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In modern communications systems, the components supporting wavelength division for increased density are rapidly becoming small compared with the wavelength of light being manipulated. As the size of these devices shrinks there comes a point when the features of interest become smaller than the wavelength and thereby the fundamental properties of light interaction with such structures change dramatically. In these structures and materials, resonances, effective properties, and band-gaps arise and offer designers a new realm of possibilities for the design of high quality factor resonators, filters and switches. / The study of structures comprising two different scales compared with the wavelength of light promises interesting optical possibilities for future devices. In these structures a subwavelength size feature is used in conjunction with a super-wavelength size feature. This thesis will show how the resulting optical behavior for such structures arises from the combination of the sub- and super-wavelength diffractive effects. / Two application examples of these two-scale devices will be studied: the distributed echelle grating and the subwavelength based Fabry-Perot cavity. Both of these applications can be thought, of as distributed diffractive structures, a structure in which diffraction and subwavelength scale interference combine to produce high efficiency and versatile new devices.