Optical absorbance of silver ellipsoidal particles

We describe a simple technique for producing arrays of silver ellipsoidal particles with parallel principal axes. The optical absorbance of the silver ellipsoids produced by this technique was measured as a function of angle, polarization, and wavelength of the incident light. Calculations of the optical absorbance were made using nonretarded electrodynamics and the bulk optical constants for silver. The results of these calculations are shown to compare favorably with the experimentally observed absorbance.