Propagation of high-frequency surface plasmons on gold

Abstract

Propagation of surface plasmons on gold in the range 2.8-3.5 eV over 0.1-1.6 μm distances was characterized by cathodoluminescence spectroscopy. Surface plasmons were excited by an electron beam near a grating milled in the gold. The spectra of outcoupled radiation reveal increasingly strong propagation losses as surface plasmon energy increases above 2.8 eV, but little effect in the range 1.6-2.8 eV. These results are in partial agreement with theoretical expectations.