Optical Spectroscopy of Nanometric Holes in Thin Gold Films

Abstract

Elastic scattering measurements show that isolated nanometric holes in optically thin Au films exhibit a localized surface plasmon resonance in the red to near-infrared region. The hole plasmon red shifts with increasing hole diameter or increasing refractive index of the surrounding medium, analogous to a dipolar particle plasmon. A pronounced blue shift is observed when the distance between holes is decreased, indicating an enhanced coupling between holes mediated by surface plasmon polaritons of the intervening flat film surface.