Light trapping and guidance in plasmonic nanocrystals

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how periodic arrays of metallic nanoparticles can trap and guide light through collective plasmon resonances, enabling wavelength-sensitive control of light localization and propagation.

Contribution

It introduces a method to control light trapping and guidance in plasmonic nanocrystals using hybrid arrays and resonance overlap for spatial and spectral manipulation.

Findings

Sharp localization of incident light in the vertical direction

Control of eigen-mode spectrum through hybrid array design

Wavelength-sensitive light guiding achieved

Abstract

We illustrate the possibility of light trapping and funneling in periodic arrays of metallic nanoparticles. A controllable minimum in the transmission spectra of such constructs arises from a collective plasmon resonance phenomenon, where an incident plane wave sharply localizes in the vertical direction, remaining delocalized in the direction parallel to the crystal plane. Using hybrid arrays of different structures or different materials, we apply the trapping effect to structure the eigen-mode spectrum, introduce overlapping resonances, and hence direct the light in space in a wavelength-sensitive fashion.