Collective Förster energy transfer modified by a planar metallic mirror

We present a theory of Förster energy transfer between arrays of molecules lying on the planar metallic mirror. First, we calculate the complex band structure of the collective Bloch modes of the light-coupled donor molecules. Next, we determine the effective rate of the energy transfer from the donors to the acceptors and reveal its strong modification by the mirror. The rate can be either suppressed or enhanced depending on the relative positions between the acceptor and donor arrays. The strong modification of the transfer rate is a collective effect, mediated by the coupling between the donors; it is absent in the single-donor model.