Extinction vs Absorption: Which Is the Indicator of Plasmonic Field Strength for Silver Nanocubes?

Abstract

This investigation demonstrates the contributions of absorption and scattering to the extinction spectrum of silver nanocubes with multipole resonances and the complexity of the resulting plasmon field strengths for these varying modes. The three-dimensional plasmonic field distribution and orientation around a silver nanosphere (AgNS; 40 nm) and a silver nanocube (AgNC; 40, 60, 86 nm) were calculated in the visible via the discrete dipole approximation. The three-dimensional nature of these particles allows for significant contribution from the quadrupole mode in some cases. The AgNS displays one plasmon band, its dipole mode, and has little contribution from scattering. The maximum plasmon field occurs at the extinction maximum, as expected. The 40 nm AgNC exhibits multiple plasmon bands, and the highest maximum field strength is attained from excitation of the quadrupole mode, not the dipole mode. As the size of the AgNC increases, the contribution from scattering increases. When the contribution from ...