Intriguing branching of the maximum position of the absorption cross section in Mie theory explained

Extinction by plasmonic nanoparticles in dispersive and dissipative media

Extinction of small metallic spheres has been well understood through the classical Mie theory when the host medium is dispersive and transparent. However, the role of host dissipation on the particulate extinction remains a competition between the enhancing and reducing effects on the localized surface plasmonic resonance (LSPR). Here, using a generalized Mie theory, we elaborate on the specific influence mechanisms of host dissipation on the extinction efficiency factors of a plasmonic nanosphere. To this end, we isolate the dissipative effects by comparing the dispersive and dissipative host with its dissipationless counterpart. As a result, we identify the damping effects of host dissipation on the LSPR including the resonance widening and amplitude reducing. The resonance positions are shifted by host dissipation, which cannot be predicted by the classical Fröhlich condition. Finally, we demonstrate that a wideband extinction enhancement due to host dissipation can be realized away from the positions of the LSPR.