Ultrasmall Mode Volume Plasmonic Nanodisk Resonators

We study the resonant modes of nanoscale disk resonators sustaining metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmons and demonstrate the versatility of these cavities to achieve ultrasmall cavity mode volume. Ag/SiO2/Ag MIM structures were made by thin-film deposition and focused ion beam milling with cavity diameters that ranged from d = 65-2000 nm. High-resolution two-dimensional cavity-mode field distributions were determined using cathodoluminescence imaging spectroscopy and are in good agreement with boundary element calculations. For the smallest cavities (d = 65-140 nm), the lowest order mode (m = 1, n = 1) is observed in the visible spectral range. This mode is of similar nature as the one in plasmonic particle dimers, establishing a natural connection between localized and traveling plasmon cavities. A cavity quality factor of Q = 16 is observed for the 105 nm diameter cavity, accompanied by a mode volume as small as 0.00033 lambda(3)(0). The corresponding Purcell factor is 900, making these ultrasmall disk resonators ideal candidates for studies of enhanced spontaneous emission and lasing.