Towards a full characterization of a plasmonic nanostructure with a fluorescent near-field probe

TL;DR

This study combines experimental measurements and theoretical simulations to comprehensively characterize the near-field optical properties of a gold nanoantenna using a fluorescent nanosource, advancing nanoantenna analysis.

Contribution

It provides a full near-field characterization method of a plasmonic nanoantenna by correlating EM-LDOS, fluorescence, and topography maps with simulations.

Findings

Quantitative agreement between experiments and simulations.

Simultaneous mapping of EM-LDOS, fluorescence, and topography.

Demonstration of a comprehensive near-field characterization technique.

Abstract

We report on the experimental and theoretical study of the spatial fluctuations of the local density of states (EM-LDOS) and of the fluorescence intensity in the near-field of a gold nanoantenna. EM-LDOS, fluorescence intensity and topography maps are acquired simultaneously by scanning a fluorescent nanosource grafted on the tip of an atomic force microscope at the surface of the sample. The results are in good quantitative agreement with numerical simulations. This work paves the way for a full near-field characterization of an optical nanoantenna.