  Evidence is presented for energy exchange between surface plasmon polaritons
(SPPs) excited in waveguide-coupled Ag/Si3N4/Au structures and CdSe/ZnS quantum
dot (QD) emitters. The QD dispersion is coated on the surface of Ag/Si3N4/Au
nanostructure, surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is excited on surface of
multilayered structure and the photoluminescence (PL) emission by the QDs is
monitored as a function of the evanescent electric field by using
fixed-detector pump-probe spectroscopy. We observe relatively large shift in
the PL emission wavelength (corresponding to 4-5 meV) with accompanying
electric field induced quenching (up to 50%) of the emission. Under the
influence of the evanescent field, the PL emission peak splits into two
components corresponding to two frequencies (Rabi splitting). Computer
simulations are used to understand conditions under which Rabi splitting should
occur.
