Diffractively induced transparency and extraordinary light emission at the plasmon band edge

We demonstrate Electromagnetically Induced Transparency-like spectral line shapes for periodic arrays of optical antennas covered by a thin layer of quantum dots. The coupling of localized surfaceplasmons to diffraction orders radiating into the quantum dot layer leads to the opening of a plasmonic stop gap in the dispersion relation of the array. Standing waves with an enhanced density of optical states are formed at the band edge, leading to an extraordinary light emission enhancement across subwavelength apertures.