Effects of dielectric core and embedding medium on plasmonic coupling of gold nanoshell arrays

The effects of the dielectric core and the dielectric embedding medium separately on transmission spectra and plasmon resonance properties of gold nanoshell arrays were investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) theory. It is found that when the hollow nanoshell arrays are placed in air, the wide photonic band gap becomes narrower as the core dielectric constant increases. On the contrary, when the nanoshell arrays with dielectric core are placed in the dielectric medium, the photonic band gap becomes wider. Furthermore, increasing core or medium dielectric constant leads to a redshift of the transmission spectra due to the polarization of the dielectric. Based on the electric field distributions, we also clearly show that the plasmon properties of the nanoshell arrays are strongly influenced by the presence of the dielectric.

► The band gap of the hollow nanoshell arrays placed in air becomes narrower as the core dielectric constant increases. ► The band gap of the nanoshell arrays (dielectric core) placed in the dielectric medium or air becomes wider. ► Increasing core or medium dielectric constant leads to a redshift of the transmission spectra due to polarization. ► The plasmon properties of the nanoshell arrays are strongly influenced by the dielectric.