The emerging field of nano-photonics 1 addresses the challenge of manipulating light on scales much smaller than the wavelength although very few practical approaches exist at present. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPP)2

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We report numerical analysis and experimental observation of strongly localized plasmons guided by a triangular metal wedge. Dispersion and dissipation of such wedge plasmons are analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain algorithm. Experimental observation is conducted by the end-fire excitation and near-field detection of the predicted plasmons on a 40° silver nanowedge. Good agreement with the theoretically predicted propagation distances is demonstrated. Differences between the theoretical and experimental field distribution are explained by insufficient resolution of the near-field optical probe.

We report numerical analysis and experimental observation of two-dimensionally localized plasmonic modes guided by a nano-gap in a thin metal film. Dispersion, dissipation and field structure of these modes are analyzed using the finite-difference time-domain algorithm. The experimental observation is conducted by the end-fire excitation of the proposed gap plasmon waveguides and detection of the generated modes using their edge scattering and CCD camera imaging. Physical interpretation of the obtained results is presented and origins of the described modes are discussed.