An S-matrix Formalism for the Nonclassical Optical Response of Plasmonic Nanowires

Abstract

This paper reports a computational scheme which predicts the light-matter interaction in multiple mesoscopic plasmonic nanowires (NWs), each of which includes concentric or eccentric constituent wires. Lying at the core of the proposed scheme is the S-Matrix of each individual cylindrical interface. The optical response of the materials inside and outside each interface can be described by three popular mesoscopic models: the Hydrodynamic Drude model (HDM) and its diffusive variant, namely the Generalized Nonlocal Optical Response (GNOR) model, as well as the Surface Response Model (SRM). To take into account the relative displacements between the cylindrical interfaces, the addition theorem is applied to construct the main equation behind the algorithm, where the possibility of longitudinal waves intrinsic in the HDM and GNOR models is also included. The optical responses calculated by the proposed S Matrix Method are compared with an in-house developed boundary element method (BEM) toolbox for a single gold NW and an eccentric dual-material NW, and excellent agreements are seen. The algorithm is further physically checked for a sodium nanolens trimer featuring large field focusing, and the effects of the HDM and the SRM are compared.