OSE6650 Fall 2013 - Homework 1

Solutions due on Thursday August 29 in class. If you use mathematical code to solve problems,
please include a printout of the code.


Question 1

a) A large particle typically absorbs more than a small particle, and yet the Maxwell-Garnet
formula does not contain a parameter related to particle size. Argue why the particle size is not
present in the Maxwell Garnett formula. (10 points)

b) Well consider the effective index resulting from the inclusion of silver particles in water. The
index of water is taken to be constant with n=1.33. Using the silver Drude description provided at
https://sharepoint.creol.ucf.edu/Kik/ose6650/Shared%20Documents (filename Silver properties
fitting parameters), make a graph of the complex effective index (n
eff
and
eff
) based on the
Maxwell Garnett formula as a function of wavelength in the range 250-1000nm, assuming that
the volume fraction is 3%. (10 points)

c) Repeat question a, but now assume that the same nanoparticles are embedded in a material
with a refractive index of n=2.0. Describe any notable changes in the index spectrum. (10 points)

Question 2

This question considers the case of a nanoscale laminar mixture (multilayer), rather than spherical
inclusions.

a) Based on the approach used to derive the Maxwell Garnet formula, derive the two formulas
describing the effective index of TE and TM waves travelling along the interfaces in a laminar
structure consisting of thin layers of two different materials, with permittivities
A
and
B
. (10
points)














b) In the case of spherical inclusions, the answer was only valid for small volume fractions. In
this laminar case, does the accuracy of your result depend on the relative volume fractions of
material A and B? Provide arguments for your answer. (10 points)

c) Based on the index data provided below, calculate the effective index of a SiO
2
/ Si multilayer
for TM polarized light at = 1.3 m for a system containing 15% Si in SiO
2
(f
Si
=0.15) (10
points)

d) Repeat this for TE polarized light (10 points)

e) Does each layer type (material A or B) have a only one layer thicknesses, or could we derive n
effective index even if different layers of material A had different thicknesses? (10 points)

0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
n
Si

Si
n
SiO
2
Wavelength (m)
R
e
f
r
a
c
t
i
v
e

i
n
d
e
x
Question 3

We found that the Maxwell Garnett result for the dielectric function of a composite containing
spherical nanoparticles with a dielectric function
i
in a host with dielectric function
e
is given
by :
.
This formula leads to an expression for the absorption coefficient = 2/c, which is also equal
to =
abs
N with N the number of absorbers per unit volume. Show that this equation implies a
frequency dependent expression for de absorption cross-section of each particle approximately
given by
,
assuming that the fill fraction f <<1. Here V
np
is the volume of one nanoparticle, and
1
and
2
are
the real and imaginary part of the particle dielectric function. For simplicity you may assume that
the host dielectric function is entirely real. (20 points)