Giant local circular dichroism within an asymmetric plasmonic nanoparticle trimer

We investigated the near-field response in silver nanoparticle aggregates to the excitation of circular polarized light. In a right-angle trimer system, the local field intensity excited by right-hand circularly polarized light is almost one thousand times larger than the left-hand case. By analyzing the polarization and phase of the local field in plasmonic hotspots, we found this local circular dichroism is originated from the near-field interference excited by orthogonal polarized incident lights. The local circular dichroism can be tuned by the rotation of the third particle, the interparticle distance, and the dielectric environment. This phenomenon could also widely exist in more complicated nanoaggregates. These findings would benefit for resolving light handedness, and enhancing circular dichroism and optical activity.