Size-dependent emission of a dipole coupled to a metal nanoparticle

We present a systematic numerical analysis of the quantum yield of an electric dipole coupled to a plasmonic nanoparticle. We observe that the yield is highly dependent on the distance between the electric dipole and the nanoparticle, the size and permittivity of the nanoparticle, and the wavelength of the incident radiation. Our results indicate that enhancement of the quantum yield is only possible for electric dipoles coupled to a nanoparticle with a radius of 20 nm or larger. As the size of the nanoparticle is increased, emission enhancement occurs at wavelengths dependent on the coupling distance.