Light scattering and absorption by two-dimensional arrays of nano and micrometer monodisperse spherical silver particles

Highlights: • Particulate monolayer can scatter most of light along the normal at oblique incidence. • Direction of plasmonic resonance spectral shift depends on monolayer spatial order. • Monolayer can scatter most of light in backward hemisphere at oblique illumination. • Maximum of scattered light can be formed in direction opposite to incident light. The problem of light scattering and absorption is considered for a free-standing two-dimensional array (monolayer) of nano- and micrometer spherical silver particles. To solve this problem for short- and imperfect long-range ordered arrays the statistical theory of multiple scattering of waves is used. The key points of the developed semi-analytical method are described. The method is based on the quasicrystalline approximation and the multipole expansion of electromagnetic fields and the dyadic Green's function in terms of vector spherical wave functions. Results for the angular distribution of scattered light, the coefficients of coherent transmission and reflection, incoherent scattering, and absorption of a monolayer are obtained for a spectral range corresponding to the nanoparticle plasmonic resonance. Some features of light propagation through two-dimensional arrays of particles with different spatial order are investigated and discussed. The results are in close agreement with the existing experimental data for a partially ordered array and the calculations for a regular array obtained under the extended low-energy electron diffraction theory.