Absorption enhancement of molecules in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime

We report on the experimental and theoretical investigations of enhancing the optical absorption of organic molecules in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime. A metal-organic hybrid structure consisting of dye molecules embedded in the polymer matrix is placed in close vicinity to thin metal films. We have observed a transition from a weak coupling regime to a strong coupling one as the thickness of the metal layer increases. The results indicate that absorption of the self-assembled J-aggregate nanostructures can be increased in the weak plasmon-exciton coupling regime and strongly quenched in the strong coupling regime. A theoretical model based on the transfer-matrix method qualitatively confirms the experimental results obtained from polarization-dependent spectroscopic reflection measurements. (C) 2014 Optical Society of America