Optical Properties of truncated and coated spheroidal Nanoparticles on a Substrate

Abstract

In nanoparticle research it is common to perform optical measurements on particle films during deposition, to help understand the growth process. GranFilm is a software under development which can calculate the optical properties of an array of truncated nanoparticles supported on a substrate. The theory behind these calculations is based on the work of Bedeaux and Vlieger. One feature which was missing from the software until now was the ability to do such simulations on the case of truncated spheroidal nanoparticles with an arbitrary number of coatings of different materials. In the beginning of this work, the equations needed to perform these simulations are derived, and then reduced to previously derived special cases for verification. The new equations are then implemented into GranFilm, and the new code is put through numerical tests. Finally, the new functionality is tested with the help of experimental data from an oxidation process of a silver nanoparticle film. The qualitative evolution of the optical properties of the film is reproduced quite successfully, but some issues remain.