Hybridization of Localized and Guided Modes in 2D Metal–Insulator–Metal Nanocavity Arrays

This article describes the angle-dependent optical responses of 2D metal–insulator–metal (MIM) nanocavity arrays. Through a combination of soft nanolithography and template stripping, we fabricated arrays of plasmonic MIM nanostructures with subwavelength spacings over square centimeter areas. We controlled the coupling between the localized surface plasmon and guided modes as well as engineered the optical band structure by tuning the insulator thickness. Rabi splitting of hybridized modes strongly depended on the spatial overlap of the near-fields of the localized and guided modes.