Hello,

I am an engineer teaching myself SPR and have found py_matrix.

The distribution has databases for materials. How can I generate databases for new materials, like water?

Thanks,

Duane

Hi,

I'm very glad to see something like this get published.  We have our own related software, but more focused on nanoscience, and also in python.  

Do you have any idea of how your computation performs compared to tmm?

https://pypi.python.org/pypi/tmm

Also glad to see someone who is using notebooks!

Hi Duane. Sorry for answering so late. I structured the code so that it is simple to add new materials. You need to simply add a new file, with three columns: (wavelgnth in nm, re_eps, im_eps). If you want to follow the included examples, you can give the fnew files a *.edb extension, but it's not mandatory. Anyway, now water is included in the database.

Best

Giovanni

Hi Adam

Sorry for answering so late. Of course I know tmm and I actually checked my results against it. All my tests (fairly simple anyway), gave quantitative agreement between the two codes. 

Best

Giovanni

What is the primary difference, if any, between the two calculations?  I'm afraid I don't understand them very well.

Hi Adam

The difference is basically one. My code can handle arbitrary 3x3 dielectric tensors, while tmm only handles simple (complex) refractive indexes, i.e diagonal dielectric tensors (or at least so it seemed to me). Arbitrary 3x3 dielectric tensors are interesting because then you are able to model all sort of Magneto Optical phenomena, as well as birefringent materials and so on...

Best

Giovanni

Hi Giovanni,

Is it possible to study multilayers with embedded nanostructures using your code? 

Best,

Elie

Hi Elie...only in a limited way. To be more specific:

• You can study only small diluited particle in maxwell-garnett approximation: as an example noble metals nanospheres or nanoellipsoids up to 100nm in diameter
• Since I use a Maxwell-Garnett approximation, you have only access to far field properties, i.e. reflectance and transmittance and so on...

Look at the link below to see how you can use my code to calculate the MCD signal of gold nanoparticles embedded in a multilayer.

if you need something more complex, and especially access to the local-field, I highly recommend EMUSTACK: look it up on github!

http://nbviewer.ipython.org/github/gevero/py_matrix/blob/master/examples/Gold%20Circular%20Magnetic%20Dichroism.ipynb

Hi Giovanni,

Thanks for the information, I will try to look at your code, but I'm not familiar with Python^^

Ideally I would like to look at nanoparticles in a polymer matrix deposited on a magnetic layer, and from what I understood it should be possible with the py-matrix code you developed.

I didn't know EMUSTACK, I will give it  look also!

Cheers!

Elie

Hi

Yes, I would say that you can definitely do that with my code, provided that the particles are small enough, not strongly coupled, and you need to look at only far field effects, such as faraday or kerr effects, MCD, and so on. I will be happy to help if you need any assistance with the code. Feel free to post on github or here. Regarding emustack, unfortunately in works only with diagonal tensors, therefore no magnetic effects can be modeled there.

Best

Giovanni