Simulation and experimental investigation of optical transparency in gold island films

Localized surface plasmons-polaritons represent collective behavior of free electrons confined to metal particles. This effect may be used for enhancing efficiency of solar cells and for other opto-electronic applications. Plasmon resonance strongly affects optical properties of ultra-thin, island-like, metal films. In the present work, the Finite Difference Time Domain (FDTD) method is used to model transmittance spectra of thin gold island films grown on a glass substrate. The FDTD calculations were performed for island structure, corresponding to the Volmer-Weber model of thin film growth. The proposed simulation model is based on fitting of experimental data on nanostructure of ultra-thin gold films, reported in several independent studies, to the FDTD simulation setup. The results of FDTD modeling are then compared to the experimentally measured transmittance spectra of prepared thin gold films and found to be in a good agreement with experimental data.