title: Spatial confinement of electromagnetic hot and cold spots in gold nanocubes.
abstract: We report a near-field imaging study of colloidal gold nanocubes. This is accomplished through a photochemical imaging method in which molecular displacements are vectorial in nature, enabling sensitivity to the polarization of the optical near-field of the nanocubes. We analyze the confinement of both electromagnetic hot and "cold" spots with a resolution of λ/35 and emphasize the particularly high spatial confinement of cold spots. The concept of a cold spot complements the well-known electromagnetic hot spot but can have significant advantages. The application of the ultraconfined cold spots to high resolution imaging and spectroscopy is discussed.
authors.affiliation: Laboratoire de Nanotechnologie et d'Instrumentation Optique LNIO-CNRS UMR 6279, Université de Technologie de Troyes, Troyes, France.
authors.forename: Mohamed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Haggui
authors.forename: Montacer
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dridi
authors.forename: Jérôme
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Plain
authors.forename: Sylvie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marguet
authors.forename: Henri
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.forename: George C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Schatz
authors.forename: Gary P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Wiederrecht
authors.forename: Stephen K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Gray
authors.forename: Renaud
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bachelot
mesh_terms: D055590:Electromagnetic Phenomena; D006046:Gold / Q000737:chemistry*; D049329:Nanostructures / Q000737:chemistry*; D055668:Photochemical Processes; D013997:Time Factors
chemical_list: D006046:Gold