Enhancing and localizing light-matter interactions using surface plasmons

Abstract

The enhancement of light-matter interactions using the strong fields associated with surface plasmons in metallic structures is a powerful concept used for example in surface enhanced Raman scattering and plasmonic sensing. We investigated the coupling between nanoscale emitters and surface plasmons in sharp metal tips and smooth metal films by detecting the angular distribution of the emitted radiation. The localized nature of the interaction is utilized in a scanning-probe approach for high-resolution Raman and photoluminescence microscopy of one-dimensional nanostructures.