Mapping bound plasmon propagation on a nanoscale stripe waveguide using quantum dots: influence of spacer layer thickness.

In this paper we image the highly confined long range plasmons of a nanoscale metal stripe waveguide using quantum emitters. Plasmons were excited using a highly focused 633 nm laser beam and a specially designed grating structure to provide stronger incoupling to the desired mode. A homogeneous thin layer of quantum dots was used to image the near field intensity of the propagating plasmons on the waveguide.

Aligned Linear Arrays of Crystalline Nanoparticles.

Fabrication of one-dimensional arrays of crystalline nanoparticles with tunable particle size and spacing (down to 20 nm) is demonstrated. The individual nanocrystals are pentagonal prisms, and the arrays are up to 11 μm in length, with some arrays containing >50 nanocrystals. Precise particle morphology and interparticle spacing can be maintained down the array.

Influence of particle-substrate interaction on localized plasmon resonances.

We present a theory for determining the localized surface plasmon resonance shifts of arbitrarily shaped metal nanoparticles on a substrate. Using a pseudoparticle concept, an expression for the particle-substrate interaction is derived, providing both physical insight and formulas to estimate the shifted plasmon resonance. The theory is verified against measured scattering spectra of nanorods on substrates.

Effect of retardation on localized surface plasmon resonances in a metallic nanorod.

The localized surface plasmon resonances in a metallic nanorod are determined using the "electrostatic approximation" and by a finite-difference time-domain numerical solution of Maxwell's equations. The difference between the two methods is related to the effects of re-radiation, or retardation, which is not included in the electrostatic formulation. It is shown that high-order modes in a metallic nanorod can be modeled by both methods, even beyond the point where the electrostatic method is supposed to fail.