Optical and electrical mappings of surface plasmon cavity modes

Plasmonics is a rapidly expanding field, founded in physics but now with a growing number of applications in biology (biosensing), nanophotonics, photovoltaics, optical engineering and advanced information technology. Appearing as charge density oscillations along a metal surface, excited by electromagnetic radiation (e.g., light), plasmons can propagate as surface plasmon polaritons, or can be confined as standing waves along an appropriately‐prepared surface. Here, we review the latter manifestation, both their origins and the manners in which they are detected, the latter dominated by near field scanning optical microscopy (NSOM/SNOM). We include discussion of the “plasmonic halo” effect recently observed by the authors, wherein cavity‐confined plasmons are able to modulate optical transmission through step‐gap nanostructures, yielding a novel form of color (wavelength) selection.