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We report on chemically prepared silver nanowires (diameters around 100 nm) sustaining surface plasmon modes with wavelengths shortened to about half the value of the exciting light. As we find by scattered light spectroscopy and near-field optical microscopy, the nonradiating character of these modes together with minimized damping due to the well developed wire crystal structure gives rise to large values of surface plasmon propagation length and nanowire end face reflectivity of about 10 microm and 25%, respectively. We demonstrate that these properties allow us to apply the nanowires as efficient surface plasmon Fabry-Perot resonators.

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By evaluating, with help of Mie's theory, absorption measurements of spherical silver particles --(between 24 and 210 A in diameter) --suspended as colloid in photosensitive glasses we found that the absorption coefficient at the wavelength of absorption peak (2 = 0.405 It) remains constant, whereas the refractive index increases by about a factor of 5 when the particle size decreases. Within accuracy of measurements and the differences of bulk optical constants of various authors this deviation from the bulk values can be described by the "free path effect", the influence of conduction electron collisions with particle surfaces. The results are compared with the quantum mechanical theory of KAWABATA and KI.rBO.

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