Characteristic near-field spectra of single gold nanoparticles

We investigate the interaction between evanescent wave and a single gold nanoparticle in near-field by utilizing an aperture-probe scanning near-field optical microscope. A characteristic spectral feature, consisting of transmission enhancement and absorptive parts, is found. Observed spectra are successfully simulated both by a model calculation based on extended Mie scattering theory of the near- and far-field scatterings as well as by a Green's dyadic method. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.