Link to publication in University of Groningen/UMCG research database Citation for published version (APA): Compaijen, P. J., Malyshev, V. A., & Knoester, J. (2013). Surface-mediated light transmission in metal nanoparticle chains. Physical Review. B: Condensed Matter and Materials Physics, 87(20), 205437-1-205437-7. [205437]. https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.87.205437 Copyright Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download or to forward/distribute the text or part of it without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license (like Creative Commons).Take-down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim.Downloaded from the University of Groningen/UMCG research database (Pure): http://www.rug.nl/research/portal. For technical reasons the number of authors shown on this cover page is limited to 10 maximum. We study theoretically the efficiency of the transmission of optical signals through a linear chain consisting of identical and equidistantly spaced silver metal nanoparticles. Two situations are compared: the transmission efficiency through an isolated chain and through a chain in close proximity of a reflecting substrate. The Ohmic and radiative losses in each nanoparticle strongly affect the transmission efficiency of an isolated chain and suppress it to large extent. It is shown that the presence of a reflecting interface may enhance the guiding properties of the array. The reason for this is the energy exchange between the surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) of the array and the substrate. We focus on the dependence of the transmission efficiency on the frequency and polarization of the incoming light, as well as on the influence of the array-interface spacing. Sometimes the effect of these parameters turns out to be counterintuitive, reflecting a complicated interplay of several transmission channels.