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Updated: May 7, 2026

Total Internal Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (TIRAS) for the Detection of Solvated Electrons at a Plasma-liquid Interface
Published on: January 24, 2018
Optical signatures of the charge of a dielectric particle in a plasma
R L Heinisch1, F X Bronold, H Fehske
1Institut für Physik, Ernst-Moritz-Arndt-Universität Greifswald, 17487 Greifswald, Germany.
Abstract:
With an eye on dust particles immersed into an ionized gas, we study the effect of a negative charge on the scattering of light by a dielectric particle with a strong transverse optical phonon resonance in the dielectric constant. Surplus electrons alter the scattering behavior of the particle by their phonon-limited conductivity in the surface layer (negative electron affinity) or in the bulk of the particle (positive electron affinity). We identify a charge-dependent increase of the extinction efficiency for low frequencies, a shift of the extinction resonance above the transverse optical phonon frequency, and a rapid variation of the polarization angles over this resonance. These effects could be used for noninvasive optical measurements of the charge of the particle.
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