Mie Scattering of

Electromagnetic Waves
GROUP 15

Supervisor: Dr. Ahsan Ilahi

 Overview

 Description of Mie theory

 Use of COMSOL Multiphysics
 Model building and study
 Analysis of Results
 Possible Applications
Mie Theory of Light Scattering

 Solution of Maxwell’s equations applied to scattering

of plane waves from a sphere.
 Valid for any particle diameter and refractive index.
 Used to calculate the amount of light scattered or
absorbed by the sphere
 Steps to calculation of scattered field:
1. Calculate Ψ.
2. Calculate vector harmonics:

𝜖2 , 𝜇2

3. Expand field in vector harmonics:

𝜖1 , 𝜇1

4. Calculate scattering coefficients:

𝑗𝑛 : spherical Bessel functions

ℎ𝑛 : spherical Hankel functions
𝑘1 = 𝜖1 𝜇1 𝜔Τ𝑐 , 𝑘2 = 𝜖2 𝜇2 𝜔Τ𝑐
 Cross Sections

 To quantify rate of energy absorbed and scattered by the

particle, we calculate absorption and scattering cross sections.

 Extinction Cross Section is the sum of scattering and absorption

cross sections.
 Calculation of Energy Rates

We define Absorbed Energy Rate as: 𝑊𝑎𝑏𝑠 = ‫𝑉𝑑 𝑠𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑄 𝑉׮‬

𝑝
Where 𝑄𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑠 is the energy loss due to heat integrated over volume of sphere 𝑉𝑝 .

We define Scattered Energy Rate as: 𝑊𝑠𝑐𝑎 = ‫ 𝑎𝑐𝑠𝑃 𝑆װ‬. 𝑛𝑑𝑆

ො
Where 𝑃𝑠𝑐𝑎 is the Poynting vector, integrated over the imaginary surface 𝑆.
Extinction Cross Section Calculation

 We use Optical Theorem as:

Scattering amplitude is calculated in the forward direction 𝑓(0)

𝐸𝑖𝑛𝑐 is the incident E-field amplitude

 In COMSOL, we use in-built far-field variable 𝐸𝑓𝑎𝑟

Use of COMSOL Multiphysics®

 COMSOL is a finite element analysis solver, with various physics

and engineering applications.
 Validity of Model
Total cross-section, 𝝈

ka (size parameter)

Calculated Result Theoretical Result [1]

[1] Crompton, Mie Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves, 2013

Scattering from Metals
Size Dependence of η for Various Metals

(η – r) curves for metal

nanoparticles
surrounded by air at

(a) 400 nm

(b) 700 nm
Surface Plasmon Resonance for Various Metals

(η –λ) curves for metal

nanoparticles
surrounded by air for

(a) Ag

(b) Al
 Infinite Cylinder

 The only exact solutions of Mie theory exist

only for two distinct shapes, sphere and infinite
cylinder.
 We calculate cross-sections of an infinite 3
cylinder using the same formulation 2
 In COMSOL, we model it as a 2D circle on the xy- 1
plane, with cylinder along the z-axis.

1: conducting material
2: dielectric medium
3: PML
Cross sections of an infinite cylinder with 𝑟 = 20 𝑛𝑚
Modeled as a 2D circle, along the principle axis
Possible Applications