Optical Near-field Interaction between Neighbouring Micro/Nano-Particles

Parallel surface nanopatterning by the enhanced optical near-field under small transparent particles has attracted great attention in recent years. The technique offers great versatility for producing nano-features on the sample surface based on the near-field ablation, etching, deposition and surface modification. Theoretical investigation of the field distribution is generally based on single particle models, e.g. Mie theory or particle-on-surface theory, in which the field interactions between the neighbouring particles have not been well explored. In this paper, the electromagnetic field distribution in the different particle array systems is simulated. Both mono-layered and multiple-layered particle aggregations are addressed. The energy flux between the neighbouring particles in a monolayered system reveals the existence of energy flowing from central particles to edged particles. The influence of the surrounding medium on the optical near-field interactions in a multi-layered system is also investigated.