Plasmonic Nanolenses: Electrostatic Self-Assembly of Hierarchical Nanoparticle Trimers and Their Response to Optical and Electron Beam Stimuli

Abstract

Asymmetric nanoparticle trimers composed of particles with increasing diameter act as "plasmonic lenses" and have been predicted to exhibit ultrahigh confinement of electromagnetic energy in the space between the two smallest particles. Here we present an electrostatic self-assembly approach for creating gold nanoparticle trimers with an assembly yield of over 60%. We demonstrate that the trimer assembly leads to characteristic red-shifts and show the localization of the relevant plasmon modes by means of cathodoluminescence and electron energy loss spectroscopy. The results are analyzed in terms of surface plasmon hybridization.