Optical properties of composite membranes containing arrays of nanoscopic gold cylinders

This report shows for the first time that the gold/aluminum oxide composites obtained by depositing gold into nanoporous template membranes can be optically transparent throughout the near infrared and into the visible spectrum. And by changing the shapes of the particles prepared, the color of the composite membrane can be reproduced and varied. These results are show to be in agreement with the predictions of the effective medium theory.