Diffractive arrays of gold nanoparticles near an interface: critical role of the substrate

The optical properties of periodic arrays of plasmonic nanoantennas are strongly affected by coherent multiple scattering in the plane of the array, which leads to sharp spectral resonances in both transmission and reflection when the wavelength is commensurate with the period. We demonstrate that the presence of a substrate (i.e., an asymmetric refractive-index environment) can inhibit long-range coupling between the particles and suppress lattice resonances, in agreement with recent experimental results. We find the substrate-to-superstrate index contrast and the distance between the array and the interface to be critical parameters determining the strength of diffractive coupling. Our rigorous electromagnetic simulations are well reproduced by a simple analytical model. These findings are important in the design of periodic structures and in the assessment of their optical resonances for potential use in sensing and other photonic technologies.