Eur. Phys. J. Plus (2017) 132: 453
https://doi.org/10.1140/epjp/i2017-11730-3

Regular Article

Quantum plasmonic waveguides: Au nanowires

¹ Scuola Superiore di Catania, Università di Catania, via Valdisavoia 9, 95123, Catania, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, via S. Sofia 64, 95123, Catania, Italy

^* e-mail: a.cordaro@amolf.nl

Received: 22 June 2017
Accepted: 29 September 2017
Published online: 3 November 2017

Abstract

Combining miniaturization and good operating speed is a compelling yet crucial task for our society. Plasmonic waveguides enable the possibility of carrying information at optical operating speed while maintaining the dimension of the device in the nanometer range. Here we present a theoretical study of plasmonic waveguides extending our investigation to structures so small that Quantum Size Effects (QSE) become non-negligible, namely quantum plasmonic waveguides. Specifically, we demonstrate and evaluate a blue-shift in Surface Plasmon (SP) resonance energy for an ultra-thin gold nanowire.