Plasmonic whispering gallery cavities as optical nanoantennas.

We study the resonant modes of surface plasmon whispering gallery cavities based on a circular groove in a Au surface. We use spatially, angle-, and polarization-resolved cathodoluminescence spectroscopy to measure the resonant plasmonic local field distribution at deep-subwavelength resolution and determine the far-field radiation distribution for each plasmonic mode. We show mode-selective excitation of the plasmonic modes and resolve the modal angular radiation pattern. The results show that plasmonic whispering gallery resonators can be used as versatile antennas both in receiving and transmitting mode.