Comparative Theoretical Study of the Optical Properties of Silicon/Gold, Silica/Gold Core/Shell and Gold Spherical Nanoparticles
Résumé
The scattering and absorption efficiencies of light by individual silicon/gold core/shell spherical nanoparticles in air are analysed theoretically in the framework of Lorenz-Mie formalism. We have addressed the influence of particle-diameter and gold-shell thickness on the scattering and absorption efficiencies of such nano-heterostructures. For comparison, we also considered the famous silica/gold core/shell nanoparticle and pure gold nanoparticle. Our simulation clearly shows that the optical response of the illuminated Si/Au core/shell nanoparticle differs markedly from that of the famous SiO2/Au heterostructure which in turn does not show a significant difference with that of the pure gold nanoparticle. This difference is clearly evident for shell thickness to outer particle radius ratio of less than 0.5. It manifests itself essentially by the occurrence of a strong and sharp absorption resonance beyond the wavelength of 600 nm where the silica/gold and the pure gold nanoparticles never absorb. The characteristics of this resonance are found to be sensitive to the particle diameter and the shell thickness. In particular, its spectral position can be adjusted over a wide spectral range from the visible to the mid-IR by varying the particle diameter and/or the shell thickness.