Plasmonic antenna array at optical frequency made by nanoapertures

We show here that the plasmonic array based on nanoapertures in ultrathin silver film radiates at optical frequency and behaves as an optical antenna array (OAA). The far-field radiation originates from the coherent superposition of plasmonic emissions on each bank of the aperture. The radiation of OAA presents a strong directivity, which depends on the in-plane rotation of aperture array, and on the polarization and incidence angle of the excitation light as well. We suggest that these features have potential applications in photovoltaics, light-emitting devices, and optical sensors. (C) 2008 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3010741]