title: Engineering metal-nanoantennae/dye complexes for maximum fluorescence enhancement.
abstract: We theoretically investigate the fluorescence enhancement of a molecule placed in a variable (4 - 20 nm) gap of a plasmonic dimer, with different dye molecules as well as different nanoparticle geometries, using a fully vectorial three-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (3D FDTD) method. This work extends previous studies on molecular fluorescence in the vicinity of metal interfaces and single nanoparticles and shows how the radiative emission of a molecule can be further enhanced by engineering the geometry of a plasmonic structure. Through the use of rigorous 3D FDTD calculations, in conjunction with analytic guidance based on temporal coupled-mode (TCM) theory, we develop a design procedure for antennae assemblies that is useful both for general understanding of molecule-metal structure interaction and experimental efforts in plasmon-enhanced molecular spectroscopy.
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Meng
authors.forename: Richard R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Grote
authors.forename: Jerry I
authors.initials: JI
authors.lastname: Dadap
authors.forename: Nicolae C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Panoiu
authors.forename: Richard M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Osgood