title: Plasmonic oligomers: the role of individual particles in collective behavior.
abstract: We present a comprehensive experimental study of the optical properties of plasmonic oligomers. We show that both the constitution and configuration of plasmonic oligomers have a large influence on their resonant behavior, which draws a compelling analogy to molecular theory in chemistry. To elucidate the constitution influence, we vary the size of individual nanoparticles and identify the role of the target nanoparticle from the spectral change. To illustrate the configuration influence, we vary the positions and numbers of nanoparticles in a plasmonic oligomer. Additionally, we demonstrate experimentally a large spectral redshift at the transition from displaced nanoparticles to touching ones. The oligomeric design strategy opens up a rich pathway for the implementation of optimized optical properties into complex plasmonic nanostructures for specific applications.
authors.affiliation: 4. Physikalisches Institut and Research Center SCoPE, Universität Stuttgart, D-70569 Stuttgart, Germany. m.hentschel@physik.uni-stuttgart.de
authors.forename: Mario
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hentschel
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Dregely
authors.forename: Ralf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vogelgesang
authors.forename: Harald
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Giessen
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Liu
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D008027:Light; D008422:Materials Testing; D008956:Models, Chemical; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000648:ultrastructure*; D010316:Particle Size; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D020349:Surface Plasmon Resonance / Q000379:methods*