Unveiling radial breathing mode in a particle-on-mirror plasmonic nanocavity

Plasmonic radial breathing mode (RBM), featured with radially oscillating charge density, arises from the surface plasmon waves confined in the flat nanoparticles. The zero net dipole moment endows the RBM with an extremely low radiation yet a remarkable intense local field. On the other hand, owing to the dark mode nature, the RBMs routinely escape from the optical measurements, severely preventing their applications in optoelectronics and nanophotonics. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the existence of RBM in a hexagonal Au nanoplate-on-mirror nanocavity using a far-field linear-polarized light source. The polarization-resolved scattering measurements cooperated with the full-wave simulations elucidate that the RBM originates from the standing plasmon waves residing in the Au nanoplate. Further numerical analysis shows the RBM possesses the remarkable capability of local field enhancement over the other dark modes in the same nanocavity. Moreover, the RBM is sensitive to the gap and nanoplate size of the nanocavity, providing a straightforward way to tailor the wavelength of RBM from the visible to near-infrared region. Our approach provides a facile optical path to access to the plasmonic RBMs and may open up a new route to explore the intriguing applications of RBM, including surface-enhanced Raman scattering, enhanced nonlinear effects, nanolasers, biological and chemical sensing.

Automated summary

This study experimentally demonstrates the existence of plasmonic radial breathing mode (RBM) in a hexagonal Au nanoplate-on-mirror nanocavity. The RBM possesses radially oscillating charge density and zero net dipole moment, resulting in low radiation and intense local field. It is found that the RBM is sensitive to the size and gap of the nanocavity, offering a straightforward method to control its wavelength.