Simulation and Characterization of Nanostructured Electromagnetic Scatterers for Information Encoding

Nanostructured scattering arrays for the optical spectral domain can be used as passive tags for information encoding, similarly to the manner in which RFID technology does. Setting up their specific spectral response depends on their geometry and the properties of the building materials. The primary design can be provided by using an analytical calculation procedure that is more straightforward and simpler than a numerical simulation. However, the question arises as to the validity of the results. Both approaches are examined in this article. Complementary scatterer arrays were designed using simplified analytical calculation and by means of numerical modeling. The experimental samples were fabricated by the focused ion beam milling of a gold film on a glass substrate and characterized by a spectroscopic system. The results of the analytical calculations, the numerical simulations, and the experimental measurements were compared. On the basis of the comparison, it was observed that for quick array design, both approaches can be used with satisfactory accuracy. Moreover, the simple numerical model also proved the possibility of the identification of the basic dipole mode splitting. Focused ion beam milling was shown to be suitable for the rapid production of complementary scatterer arrays.