Robust determination of the anisotropic polarizability of nanoparticles using coherent confocal microscopy

J Opt Soc Am A Opt Image Sci Vis. 2008 Aug;25(8):2102-13. doi: 10.1364/josaa.25.002102.

Abstract

A coherent confocal microscope is proposed as a means to fully characterize the elastic scattering properties of a nanoparticle as a function of wavelength. Using a high numerical aperture lens, two-dimensional scanning, and a simple vector-beam shaper, the rank-2 polarizability tensor is estimated from a single confocal image. A method for computationally efficient data processing is described, and numerical simulations show that this algorithm is robust to noise and uncertainty in the focal plane position. The proposed method is a generalization of techniques that provide an estimate of a limited set of scattering parameters, such as a single orientation angle for rodlike particles. The measurement of the polarizability obviates the need for a priori assumptions about the nanoparticle.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms
  • Computer Simulation
  • Equipment Design
  • Fourier Analysis
  • Microscopy, Confocal / methods*
  • Models, Statistical
  • Models, Theoretical
  • Nanoparticles / chemistry*
  • Nanotechnology / methods
  • Optics and Photonics*
  • Scattering, Radiation