When a small radiating or scattering object is placed near a multilayer array of plasmonic nanospheres, on the other side the optical near field is enhanced due to the excitation of resonant modes in the layers. For some particular frequencies, the field behind the array is concentrated in a subwavelength region, creating a super resolution effect. Resonating layers are able to reproduce (transport) part of the evanescent spectrum to the other side of these layers which otherwise would decay rapidly. We explore the mechanism of evanescent field transport and subwavelength field concentration on the other side of the layered material and show the relationship between near-field enhancement, field concentration, and modal dispersion characteristics. A detailed investigation of these phenomena is carried out by using an effective numerical model based on the array scanning method (ASM) combined with the Ewald method to accelerate the convergence of the dyadic Green function calculation. The subwavelength-sized spheres forming the arrays are represented as single dipole radiators, and the model of their interactions takes into account all the radiative and reactive field components.

Complex optical modes in 3D-periodic arrays of metallic nanospheres are analyzed at optical frequencies for both longitudinal and transversal (with respect to the mode traveling direction) polarization states. Each nanosphere of the array is modeled to act as a single dipole by using the single dipole approximation approach, and the metal permittivity is described by the Drude model. Complex mode dispersion diagrams, the figure of merit and effective refractive index versus frequency are shown and compared with those obtained with Maxwell Garnett homogenization theory. Comparison with effective permittivity retrieved by scattering parameters of finite-thickness structures will be shown during the presentation. © 2011 IEEE.

In this paper, complex modes in a linear chain of gold nanospheres are analyzed, accounting for metal losses. Dispersion diagrams are computed for travelling modes with both longitudinal and transverse (with respect to the array axis) polarization states. The procedure outlined in this work allows for the description of single mode evolution varying frequency, thus the modal dispersion diagrams are composed by the superposition of all the different modes in the one dimensional array. Each nanoparticle is modeled as an electric dipole, by adopting the single dipole approximation, and the complex zeroes of the homogeneous equation characterizing the field in the periodic structure are computed. The Ewald method is employed to analytically continue the periodic Green's function into the complex spectral domain and to achieve rapid convergence. Full characterization of the modes is provided in terms of their direction of propagation (forward/backward), their guidance and radiation properties (bound/leaky), the position of their wavenumber on the Riemann sheet (proper/improper), and also in terms of their possible physical excitation in the structure by a source in proximity of the array or a defect (physical/nonphysical modes). Understanding the modes excitable in this kind of structures is essential for possible applications in which the linear chain can be employed, from near-field enhancement to SERS, and innovative sensors. © 2011 SPIE.

Recently there has been a number of studies of single-layer and double-layer arrays of small resonant particles made of a noble metal. The intense interest to these structures is caused by their promising properties for near-field enhancement and subwavelength imaging applications, especially in the optical range. They have substantial advantages over the structures containing DNG (double negative) materials as they are easier in fabrication and may mitigate the problem of losses. So far the super-resolution properties were theoretically investigated only for the arrays of a finite extent. In this work we consider single-layer and multilayer infinite arrays. This formulation allows to build a highly effective algorithm and to consider both the problem of excitation of a periodic structure by a single dipole and the modal properties of the structure. The field produced by a single dipole source is effectively described by using the array scanning method, accelerated by the Ewald method. Each subwavelength sphere is represented as an electric dipole scatterer. Special attention is given to the investigation of the number of layers influence on local field enhancement and to the study of the field distribution between the layers.