Broadband Surface Plasmon Resonance Tuning in Ballistic Aggregates of Metal Nanoparticles for Photonic Applications

Broadband Surface Plasmon Resonance Tuning in Ballistic Aggregates of Metal Nanoparticles for Photonic Applications | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Broadband Surface Plasmon Resonance Tuning in Ballistic Aggregates of Metal Nanoparticles for Photonic Applications Richa Sharma, Pranav Kant Gaur, R P Sharma This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Ballistic aggregates (BAs) have long been used in astrophysics to model interstellar dust, particularly for analyzing their light scattering and absorption characteristics. In this work, we extend the application of BA structures into the plasmonic domain by investigating their optical response at the nanoscale. Using the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), we numerically simulate the extinction and absorption behavior of 50 nm radius metal nanoparticles (Al, Ag, Au) arranged in BA, BAM1, and BAM2 configurations. Our results confirm that the optical properties of these clusters are strongly influenced by porosity, number of monomers, and the refractive index of the embedding medium. Notably, we identify a transition wavelength, below which extinction increases with porosity, while above it, the trend reverses. We also observe a redshift in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with decreasing porosity and increasing cluster size, offering broad tunability of the extinction spectrum. The near-field analysis further reveals significant field enhancement due to inter-particle coupling. These findings suggest that nanoscale BA-type clusters could serve as viable candidates for plasmon-enhanced light absorption in photovoltaic applications. Ballistic Agglomeration Nanoaggregates Surface Plasmon Resonance Discrete Dipole Approximation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6783496","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":468004662,"identity":"c7d086bb-7733-4d4f-a091-3481b533a97d","order_by":0,"name":"Richa Sharma","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA+UlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZgY2EJUA5nxgYDCAiksQp4VxBlFaGJC0MPMgtOAG5u3Mzx78YKjL4599OvGzzR87Y372A4wffjBY5OHSInOYzdywh+FwscS53M3SuW3JZpI9CcySPQwSxbi0SDDzsEnwMBxIbDjDu0E6t4HZxuAGA4M0UCKxAY8WyT8MdYnzz/Bu/m3xp97G/gYD829CWqR5GJgTN5zh3SbNwHbYzECCgY2ALWxm0jIGhxM3ArVY9rYdN5Y4k9hm2WOARwv/4WeSbyrqEucBHXbjx59qw/72w4dv/ACK4NICAaiRwdhATPSMglEwCkbBKMADAMxVSm8qicrWAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Shah and Anchor Kutchhi Engineering College","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Richa","middleName":"","lastName":"Sharma","suffix":""},{"id":468004664,"identity":"29681814-bbfa-4f4f-b8a6-55836da44b4a","order_by":1,"name":"Pranav Kant Gaur","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Bhabha Atomic Research Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Pranav","middleName":"Kant","lastName":"Gaur","suffix":""},{"id":468004666,"identity":"6136e2e7-9924-4c29-84ef-8e0b85f07f4e","order_by":2,"name":"R P Sharma","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Indian Institute of Technology Delhi","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"R","middleName":"P","lastName":"Sharma","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-05-30 09:53:20","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":85322452,"identity":"158491fb-0811-4849-a804-467b50c7060a","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-06-24 15:38:41","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":974513,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BAmanuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6783496/v1_covered_67ad08da-3897-4ed8-a9c5-96baec275704.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Broadband Surface Plasmon Resonance Tuning in Ballistic Aggregates of Metal Nanoparticles for Photonic Applications","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Ballistic Agglomeration, Nanoaggregates, Surface Plasmon Resonance, Discrete Dipole Approximation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Ballistic aggregates (BAs) have long been used in astrophysics to model interstellar dust, particularly for analyzing their light scattering and absorption characteristics. In this work, we extend the application of BA structures into the plasmonic domain by investigating their optical response at the nanoscale. Using the Discrete Dipole Approximation (DDA), we numerically simulate the extinction and absorption behavior of 50 nm radius metal nanoparticles (Al, Ag, Au) arranged in BA, BAM1, and BAM2 configurations. Our results confirm that the optical properties of these clusters are strongly influenced by porosity, number of monomers, and the refractive index of the embedding medium. Notably, we identify a transition wavelength, below which extinction increases with porosity, while above it, the trend reverses. We also observe a redshift in surface plasmon resonance (SPR) with decreasing porosity and increasing cluster size, offering broad tunability of the extinction spectrum. The near-field analysis further reveals significant field enhancement due to inter-particle coupling. These findings suggest that nanoscale BA-type clusters could serve as viable candidates for plasmon-enhanced light absorption in photovoltaic applications.","manuscriptTitle":"Broadband Surface Plasmon Resonance Tuning in Ballistic Aggregates of Metal Nanoparticles for Photonic Applications","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-06-09 08:07:23","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6783496/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"958763d2-1dc2-454b-aa8c-958455d76ce3","owner":[],"postedDate":"June 9th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-07-28T17:38:21+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-06-09 08:07:23","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6783496","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6783496","identity":"rs-6783496","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}