Simulation of Plasmonic Particles with MMP

Abstract

The Multiple Multipole Program (MMP) is a Generalized Point Matching (GPM) method using analytical multipole expansions to solve Maxwell's equations in frequency domain. MMP is a well-established and highly flexible method for the simulation of photonic nanostructures. However, for three-dimensional systems it usually requires an experienced user to position the expansions and matching points in order to model the geometry accurately. Here, we present a novel mesh-based approach, which allows simulating a large variety of geometries without user interaction. Additionally, we adapted MMP for the calculation of electron-energy loss spectra (EELS). Our implementation has been validated against analytical solutions and by comparison with results from discontinuous Galerkin time-domain (DGTD) simulations. Finally, we discuss the possibility to employ layered Green's functions, which makes MMP a powerful tool for the accurate simulation of particles on layered substrates or membranes.