Abstract

The electromagnetic excitation of metallic nanoparticles (MNP) has attracted a great interest in the past decade due to the ability of surface plasmons to surpass the diffraction limit of conventional optics [1]. Chains of coupled resonant MNP have been proposed to allow transfer of electromagnetic energy from particle to particle at nanometer scales [2]. However, the most of the work was focused on resonance amplitude variation in plasmonic nanostructures, considering energy transfer, dissipation, or excitation mechanisms [3]. The phase profile along coupled resonant nanostructures supporting localized surface plasmons (LSP) has never been analysed. Nevertheless, phase analysis in collectively oscillating dipoles brings a new viewpoint for MNP excitation physical mechanisms understanding.

© 2013 IEEE