Optimizing Nanoparticle Designs to Reach Ideal Light Absorption

Ideal absorption describes a particular means of optimizing light-matter interactions with a host of potential applications. This work presents new analytic formulas and describes semi-analytical methods for the design of electric or magnetic ideal absorption in nanoparticles. These formulas indicate that ideal absorption is attainable in homogeneous spheres with known materials at specific sizes and frequencies. They also provide a means of designing core-shell particles to produce ideal absorption at virtually any frequency in the visible and near infrared range.