Optical extinction of an assembly of spherical particles in an absorbing medium: Application to silver clusters in absorbing organic materials

Abstract:

The theory presented by Gerardy and Ausloos for the calculation of the linear optical response of aggregates of spherical particles is analytically continued for absorbing embedding media. The method is based on the calculation of the extinction rate by a single particle embedded in an absorbing matrix. Explicit expressions for the extinction and scattering cross-sections are given. The method is applied to calculate the energy losses in several organic matrices with embedded silver clusters. Comparison with experimental data shows a very good agreement.