Analytical models for coated plasmonic particles: effects of shape and size-corrected dielectric function

TL;DR

This paper evaluates the accuracy of analytical modal expansion methods for coated plasmonic particles with various shapes, considering size-corrected dielectric functions, and identifies limitations with sharp bicones due to localized plasmonic fields.

Contribution

It demonstrates that MEM remains accurate for most shapes with size correction, except for sharp bicones where field localization causes failure.

Findings

Size correction broadens and reduces plasmonic peaks.

MEM accurately predicts spectra for most shapes with size correction.

Sharp bicones cause MEM failure due to localized fields.

Abstract

Recently, modal expansion methods (MEMs) were developed to accurately predict the extinction and scattering spectra of bare and coated plasmonic particles. However, it remains uncertain whether the accuracy of analytical models is preserved when incorporating size-corrected dielectric functions. We compare numerical (COMSOL) and analytical extinction and scattering spectra for various particle shapes - rods, disks, prisms, bicones, and bipyramids - using both bulk and size-corrected dielectric functions. Size correction primarily causes broadening and a reduction in the plasmonic peaks. Still, the accuracy of analytical models is maintained for all shapes except sharp bicones, where MEM fails for both bulk and size-corrected dielectric functions. This failure arises from the strong localization of the plasmonic field near the sharp bicone tips. However, for realistic bicone models with nanometer-scale tip curvature, MEM performs well.