Enhanced magnetic response in a gold nanowire pair array through coupling with Bloch surface waves

We numerically study the coupling of magnetic plasmon polaritons (MPPs) with Bloch surface waves (BSWs) in a system composed of a one-dimensional gold nanowire pair array lying on a periodic dielectric multilayer. At an appropriate period of the dielectric multilayer, maximum coupling takes place between the MPP and the BSW. It results in two branches of hybridized MPPs with a Rabi-type splitting as large as 125 meV. The maximal magnetic field intensity achieved in the center of nanowire pairs is enhanced greatly and an enhancement factor > 1.5 is observed compared with that achieved by a nanowire pair array lying directly on a substrate. This has potential applications in nonlinear optics and near-field enhanced spectroscopy. (C) 2011 Optical Society of America