Efficient localization of electromagnetic fields using a plasmonic nano-cylinder waveguide

One could use arrays of nanocylinders or nanospheres as inclusions in a substrate to realize optical metamaterials. On the other hand, because of their subwavelength sizes, such arrays could be used for several nano-photonic circuit concepts. In this paper we have been studying analytically and with the finite difference time domain (FDTD) approach, the scattering of Gaussian beams from sets of nano-cylinders and nano-spheres. We selected the FDTD approach because of its versatility in the choices and configurations of materials and structures that can modeled. This versatility makes it an excellent candidate for studying the behavior of these ultra-small systems. One strong design goal has been to determine whether or not an array of plasmonic nanocylinders could be used as an effective waveguide to localize efficiently an electromagnetic field to subwavelength dimensions.