Effective optical constants dielectric function, theories

Thus, if the wavelength of the light is much greater than the grain size, the long wavelength approximation and effective medium theory can be applied to determine the effective value of the composite dielectric constant and, consequently, describe composites optical properties. However, if the size of the structure is of the order of tens and even units of nanometers, then the effective medium approach is not applicable. Indeed, within this approximation, the effective permittivity of a composite is determined as a function of the permittivity for each composite component and, in turn, the nanocomposite components are characterized by the same tensor of permittivity as those used for bulk media. ... 

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