Near-field optical response of a two-dimensional grating of gold nanoparticles

Laboratoire de Physique, Optique Submicronique, Universite´de Bourgogne, Boite Postale 47870, F-21078 Dijon, France~Received 1 August 2000; published 4 April 2001!This article reports on the near-field optical response of a small square grating of gold nanoparticles tailoredby electron-beam lithography. The investigation of the grating is aimed at a deepened understanding ofelectromagnetic interaction among particles due to scattered light fields. Therefore, a photon scanning tunnel-ing microscope is applied to acquire near-field optical images. Two different incident wavelengths are used tocharacterize the intensity and the spatial localization of the electromagnetic near field both in and out…