Optical and electrical mappings of surface plasmon cavity modes

Plasmonics is a rapidly expanding field, founded in physics but now with a growing number of applications in biology (biosensing), nanophotonics, photovoltaics, optical engineering and advanced information technology. Appearing as charge density oscillations along a metal surface, excited by electromagnetic radiation (e.g., light), plasmons can propagate as surface plasmon polaritons, or can be confined as standing waves along an appropriately-prepared surface. Here, we review the latter manifestation, both their origins and the manners in which they are detected, the latter dominated by near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM/SNOM). We include discussion of the “plasmonic halo” effect recently observed by the authors, wherein cavity-confined plasmons are able to modulate optical transmission through step-gap nanostructures, yielding a novel form of color (wavelength) selection.