Thin film based plasmon nanorulers

Abstract

In this work, isolated metal nanoparticles are supported on a dielectric thin film that is placed on a conducting plane. The optical scattering characteristics of these metal nanoparticles are directly correlated with the localized surface plasmon states of the nanoparticle - image particle dimer, formed in the conducting plane below. Quantification of plasmon resonance shifts can be directly correlated with the application of the plasmon nanoruler equation. This simple geometry shows that direct optical techniques can be used to resolve thickness variations in dielectrics of only a few nanometers.