A new algorithm is developed to calculate the multiple scattering problem in 1D nanoparticle chains. The algorithm is shown to have complexity of O(N²). Using the new algorithm, light transportation in nanoparticle chains is studied for chains with particles of different radii. I considered both transverse mode and longitudinal mode transport with different inter-sphere distances, and the decay length is determined for various configurations for comparison of transmission quality. For some specific configurations, the light signal can travel rather long distances. We found that longitudinal mode transport is at its best if the inter-particle distance is as small as possible. For the best transverse mode transport, the inter-sphere separation should be about 3.5 times that of the radius...[ Read more ]

A new algorithm is developed to calculate the multiple scattering problem in 1D nanoparticle chains. The algorithm is shown to have complexity of O(N²). Using the new algorithm, light transportation in nanoparticle chains is studied for chains with particles of different radii. I considered both transverse mode and longitudinal mode transport with different inter-sphere distances, and the decay length is determined for various configurations for comparison of transmission quality. For some specific configurations, the light signal can travel rather long distances. We found that longitudinal mode transport is at its best if the inter-particle distance is as small as possible. For the best transverse mode transport, the inter-sphere separation should be about 3.5 times that of the radius for Ag spheres that have radius of 100nm at wavelength of 775nm. The dipole approximation is compared with multiple scattering method, and the dipole approximation is found to be good if the spheres are far apart, but full multiple scattering is needed if the inter-sphere distances are close together. I also used the eigenmode decomposition method and the generating function method to explain the transmission characteristics.