Surface plasmon propagation in a pair of metal nanowires coupled to a nanosized optical emitter

The coupling, propagations, and far-field emissions of surface plasmons in a pair of Au nanowires with a dipole emitter have been investigated using the finite-difference time domain method. The surface plasmon wavelength is tunable from 650 to 380 nm by adjusting the distance between the two wires, which leads to an enhancement of coupling constant and density of states of the surface plasmon. The converted energy from the dipole emitter to the propagating surface plasmon as well as the far-field emission intensity of a pair of Au nanowires increase to approximately four times as large as those of a single nanowire. (C) 2008 Optical Society of America.