Abstract

A composite medium consisting of small metallic particles in a dielectric host exhibits strong absorption at the surface plasmon resonance. This resonance causes the deep red color of gold colloids that has motivated several models of the optical properties of composite media. The Maxwell-Garnett¹ theory is one of the earliest and simplest of these models, and it remains an excellent approximation to the dielectric function of composite media for small particles and small fill-fractions.

© 1988 Optical Society of America