Tailoring the refractive indices of thin film polymer metallic nanoparticle nanocomposites

We demonstrate how to tailor the spatial distribution of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs) of different sizes within polystyrene (PS) thin, supported, film hosts, thereby enabling the connection between the spatial distribution of Au-NPs within the polymer film and the optical properties to be determined. The real, n, and imaginary parts, k, of the complex refractive indices N = n(λ)+ik(λ) of the nanocomposite films were measured as a function of wavelength, λ, using multivariable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry. The surface plasmon response of films containing nearly homogeneous Au-NP distributions were well described by predictions based on classical Mie theory and the Drude model. The optical spectra of samples containing inhomogeneous nanoparticle distributions manifest features associated with differences in the size and interparticle spacings as well as the proximity and organization of nanoparticles at the substrate and free surface.