Metal-insulator-metal nanorod arrays for subwavelength imaging.

We proposed using metal-insulator-metal (MIM) nanorod arrays for subwavelength imaging to improve the resolution based on the notable ability of field confinement of the MIM nanorods. The field distribution of a single Au-SiO(2)-Au nanorod, coupling between two nanorods and image transfer of shaped dipole sources through nanorod arrays were investigated by using the finite-difference time-domain method and compared with the case of Au nanorods. A resolution limit of approximately lambda/20 of the Au-SiO(2)-Au nanorod array was obtained, which is several times higher than that of the Au nanorod array.