Publication Type
Journal
Journal Name
Physical Review B
Publication Date
Page Number
125322
Volume
79
Issue
12
Abstract
We use quantum mechanical calculations and classical theories of the optical absorption of free and embedded nanoparticles to demonstrate a universality of the optical response of Si-Si bonds, independent of bonding configurations. We also demonstrate that the classical theory remains valid down to atomic-scale nanoparticles and that the evolution of the optical spectrum of a free nanoparticle would evolve to the bulk spectrum when the particle contains hundreds of thousands of Si atoms.