%0 Journal Article
%T Effective permittivity of random plasmonic composites
%A Satvik N. Wani
%A Ashok S. Sangani
%A Radhakrishna Sureshkumar
%J Physics
%D 2012
%I arXiv
%R 10.1364/JOSAB.29.001443
%X An effective-medium theory (EMT) is developed to predict the effective permittivity \epsilon_eff of dense random dispersions of high optical-conductivity metals such as Ag, Au and Cu. Dependence of \epsilon_eff on the volume fraction \phi, a microstructure parameter \kappa related to the static structure factor and particle radius a is studied. In the electrostatic limit, the upper and lower bounds of \kappa correspond to Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman EMTs respectively. Finite size effects are significant when |\beta^2(ka/n)^3| becomes O(1) where \beta, k, and n denote the nanoparticle polarizability, wavenumber and matrix refractive index respectively. The coupling between the particle and effective medium results in a red-shift in the resonance peak, a non-linear dependence of \epsilon_eff on \phi, and Fano resonance in \epsilon_eff.
%U http://arxiv.org/abs/1202.4413v1