Pronounced effects of anisotropy on plasmonic properties of nanorings fabricated by electron beam lithography

Gold nanoring dimers were fabricated via EBL with dimensions of 127.6 ± 2.5 and 57.8 ± 2.3 nm for the outer and inner diameters, respectively, with interparticle separations ranging from 17.8 ± 3.4 to 239.2 ± 3.7 nm. The coupling between the inner and outer surfaces of a single nanoring renders it very sensitive to any anisotropy. We found that anisotropy in the particle geometry and anisotropy introduced by the substrate combine to create very unique spectral features in this system.