Optical properties of nanoparticles

optical

properties of these systems of reduced dimensions have attracted growing interest in both the basic and the applied sciences. Like many other characteristics of nanoparticles, interaction with electromagnetic radiation depends on the dimensions of the particles and thus allows one, for example, to fabricate tailor-made materials for novel optical components.

The present special issue of Applied Physics B – Lasers and Optics is devoted to this highly interesting field of the optical properties of nanoparticles and, in particular, to their variation as a function of size and shape. The feature contains articles describing experimental and theoretical work on, for example, linear and nonlinear optical properties, temporal response following ultrafast femtosecond excitation, the influence of the chemical surroundings on the optical spectra of particles embedded in matrices or supported on substrate surfaces, exploitation of the field enhancement accompanying surface plasmon excitation, and, last but not least, the fragmentation behavior often associated with electronic excitation. Clearly, a selection of articles cannot cover this field exhaustively, and this issue should be regarded as a snapshot of current research on optics of nanoparticles.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my thanks to all the authors for their contributions and all the reviewers for their essential work in ensuring the high quality of the published papers. Finally, I would like to thank Daniela Schiller, Experimentalphysik I, Universität Kassel, and Marlene Hillen, Springer-Verlag Heidelberg, for processing the manuscripts and for careful and rapid preparation of this issue.