Plasmon resonant Au nanospheres and nanorods in anodic alumina matrix

This paper discusses theoretical studies of optical properties of gold nanospheres and nanorods with various aspect ratios, embedded in porous anodic alumina matrix. We show in this study that when the alumina template is made under certain conditions, nanostructures with diameters in the 15-25 nm range can be synthesized. Embedding gold particles of nanometer dimensions into a dielectric matrix provides a simple way to study the optical properties of the particles. Plasmon resonance wavelength for gold nanospheres and nanorods with different aspect ratios embedded in porous anodic alumina matrix are computed and discussed in this study. Recently, the plasmons in porous anodic alumina matrix have been considered for quasi-non-diffractive nano-optics applications. Other potential applications of the noble metal nanoparticles include optical filters and sensors. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.