Finite-difference time-domain technique as an efficient tool for calculating the regularized Green function: applications to the local-field problem in quantum optics for inhomogeneous lossy materials

The calculation of the local density of states (LDOS) in lossy materials has long been disputed due to the divergence of the homogeneous Green functionwith equal space arguments. For arbitrary-shaped lossy structures, such as those of interest in nanoplasmonics, this problem is particularly challenging. A nondivergent LDOS obtained in numerical methods such as the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) technique, at first sight appears to be wrong. Here we show that FDTD is not only an ideal choice for obtaining the regularized LDOS, but it can address the local-field problem for any lossy inhomogeneous material. We exemplify the case of a finite-size photon emitter (e.g., a single quantum dot) embedded within and outside a lossy metal nanoparticle and show excellent agreement with analytical results. © 2012 Optical Society of America OCIS codes: 270.5580, 270.0270, 240.6680, 240.0240.