Absorption spectra and near-electric field enhancement effects of Au- and Ag-Fe3O4 dimers

Abstract Absorption efficiencies and near-electric field enhancement factors of Au- and Ag-Fe3O4 dimers have been calculated with the discrete dipole approximation (DDA) and electrostatics approximation (EA). The influences of metal nanoparticle size, incident wavelength and incident polarization angle on the enhancement factor are systematically investigated. It is found that the electric field enhancement effect on magnetite cube is positive above the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) wavelength in the longitudinal mode (LM), while being negative in nonresonant region in the transverse mode (TM). The maximum enhancement factors derived from SPR may be achieved in the LM. Most importantly, when we accurately evaluate the enhancement factors of the dimers, the presence of the magnetite nanocube must be taken into account because the cube significantly alters the amplitude distribution of the enhanced electric field of the metal nanosphere especially in SPR region. This study helps to understand and design the plasmonic nanostructures for the applications with strong photon–particle interactions.