OPTICAL-SCATTERING AS A PROBE OF LOCAL-FIELD EFFECT IN MICRON-SIZED CDS SPHERES

The optical properties of individual 3- to 14-micron diameter CdS crys talline spheres embedded in poly(methyl methacrylate) were studied usi ng elastic scattering. The presence of well defined sharp peaks in the 550 to 600 nm elastic scattering spectra confirmed that each microcry stal acts as an optical cavity with cavity quality factors exceeding 1 0(4). Such natural resonator microcrystals should lead to greatly enha nced local field effects near the surface of CdS, quantum electrodynam ic modification of optical transition rates of nearby species and alte red photochemistry. Absorptive heating following high intensity laser irradiation was found to induce a transient washout of the high Q mode s.