Near-field calculation based on the T-matrix method with discrete sources

We propose a novel approach to compute the field scattered by a particle in the near-zone, in the framework of the transition matrix formulation. This method is based on the expansion of the total near-field in terms of discrete sources vector spherical wave functions and turns out to be particularly effective to model strongly elongated or flattened particles with high permittivity. The performances are evaluated on gold spheroids with several aspect ratios. This method results very useful to understand the complex behavior of enhanced plasmon fields in resonant metallic nanostructures. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.