On the Optical Characterisation of Nanoparticle and their Aggregates in Plasma Systems

This paper outline and discuss basic considerations for the optical characterization of nanoparticles and their aggregates: particle models, light scattering theories and main experimental setups, regarding their interest for the study of plasma flows. It emphasizes that there are now powerful alternatives to the Lorenz-Mie theory and its simple homogeneous sphere model, which allow accurate calculations of the optical properties of particles with complex sub-structures and shapes. (c) 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim