title: General properties of dielectric optical antennas.
abstract: Using Mie theory we derive a number of general results concerning the resonances of spherical and cylindrical dielectric antennas. Specifically, we prove that the peak scattering cross-section of radiation-limited antennas depends only on the resonance frequency and thus is independent of refractive index and size, a result which is valid even when the resonator is atomic-scale. Furthermore, we derive scaling limits for the bandwidth of dielectric antennas and describe a cylindrical mode which is unique in its ability to support extremely large bandwidths even when the particle size is deeply subwavelength. Finally, we show that higher Q antennas may couple more efficiently to an external load, but the optimal absorption cross-section depends only on the resonance frequency.
authors.affiliation: Geballe Lab for Advanced Materials, 476 Lomita Mall, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94306, USA. jonschuller@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Jon A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Schuller
authors.forename: Mark L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Brongersma
mesh_terms: D003198:Computer Simulation; D017076:Computer-Aided Design; D004867:Equipment Design; D019544:Equipment Failure Analysis; D008027:Light; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D055096:Optical Devices; D012031:Refractometry / Q000295:instrumentation*; D012542:Scattering, Radiation; D014159:Transducers