Using the finite-difference time-domain(FDTD) method,we simulate the coupling between a gold nanorod and gold nanoparticles with different plasmonic resonant frequencies/volumes as well as that between the nanorod and a dielectric nanosphere.The influences of coupling with different nanoparticles on the excitation of a forbidden longitudinal surface plasmon mode of the nanorod under normal incidence are investigated.It is found that the cause of this excitation is the broken symmetry of the local electric field experienced by the nanorod resulting from the charge pileup on the other nanoparticle.This result is valuable for understanding the near-field optical characterization of plasmonic metal nanoparticles.
We demonstrate that the femtosecond time-resolved magneto-optical Kerr rotation oscillates with the direction of polarization of the probe beam when a sample of Al0.25Ga0.75As/GaAs multi-quantum wells is excited by a circularly polarized pump and detected by a linearly polarized probe at wavelengths from 800 to 830 nm. Analytical expressions are derived to explain the mechanism, which is in good agreement with the numerical computation and the experimental data. The results suggest that the Kerr signal can be enhanced by choosing an optimal direction of polarization, which is of benefit to the measurement of the weak Kerr rotation.
