Near-field and far-field properties of nanoparticle arrays

Abstract

The reason for the strong interest in the electrodynamic properties of metal nanoparticles (i.e., particles with sub μ dimensions) is based on their surface plasmon modes (see Sect. 2.2.2). A metal nanoparticle can in some sense be seen as a resonator for surface plasmons and, like any (moderately damped) resonator, if excited resonantly the oscillation amplitude can overcome the excitation amplitude by orders of magnitude. For surface plasmons on metal nanoparticles this means a strong enhancement of the local electromagnetic field compared to the exciting electromagnetic field. © 2007 Springer.