The stimulated scattering of picosecond laser pulses with a wavelength of 532 nm and energies in the range of 0.1–10 mJ in suspensions of 2-nm-diameter Ag nanoparticles in toluene at a concentration of 0.003 M is investigated. It is shown that the threshold for the onset of stimulated Raman scattering in suspensions is significantly lower than it is in pure toluene, which can be explained by the effect of local field enhancement near a metal nanoparticle. It is found that the efficiencies of stimulated Raman and Rayleigh–Mie scattering are comparable for pulses with a duration of ~100 ps, with Rayleigh–Mie scattering dominant for longer laser pulses and Raman scattering, for shorter (<100 ps) pulses. The experimental results are in good agreement with theoretical estimates.
Erokhin et al. (Sun,) studied this question.