A closed-form analytical model for single nanoshells

In this paper, we develop an accurate analytical closed-form model for the frequency resonance and scattering characteristics of single nanoshells. Nanoshells, dielectric spheres that are coated with noble metal, possess excellent tunability of their resonance frequency as a function of the relative sizes of the core and the thickness of the shell. Consequently, nanoshells offer much improved sensitivity, specificity, and cost-effectiveness in their applications. Simulation results show that our new closed-form model matches very closely with the exact solution for typical nanoshell configurations used in near-infrared applications.