Optical Coulomb blockade lifting in plasmonic nanoparticle dimers

If two metal nanoparticles are ultimately approached, a tunneling current prevents both an infinite redshift of the bonding dipolar plasmon and an infinite increase of the electric field in the hot spot between the nanoparticles. We argue that a Coulomb blockade suppresses the tunneling current and sustains a redshift even for sub-nanometer approach up to moderate fields. Only for stronger optical fields, the Coulomb blockade is lifted and a charge transfer plasmon is formed. Numerical simulations show that such scenarios are well in reach with manageable nanoparticle dimensions, even at room temperature. Applications may include ultrafast, optically driven switches, photo detectors operating at 500 THz, or highly nonlinear devices.