Metal enhanced fluorescence of Ag-nanoshell dimer

The plasmon modes of Ag-nanoshell dimer on metal enhanced fluorescence (MEF) are studied theoretically. The amplified excitation rate of a dimer (two identical Ag nanoshells) illuminated by a plane wave for exciting a molecule located at the gap center is calculated. Subsequently, the apparent quantum yield of the emission of the excited molecule affected by the dimer is investigated. The multiple multipole method is used for the both simulations. Finally, the enhancement factor of the dimer on the overall photoluminescence of the molecule in terms of the two parameters is evaluated. Our results show that Ag-nanoshell dimer is a dual-band photoluminescence enhancer for MEF at the bonding dipole and quadrupole modes. The former is broadband, and the latter narrowband. Both bands depend on the gap size. Moreover, the average enhancement factor of Ag-nanoshell dimer for MEF with a Stokes shift is discussed.