  Two semi-analytical approaches to solve the problem of light scattering on
nanowire antennas are developed and compared. The derivation is based on the
exact solution of the plane wave scattering problem in case of an infinite
cylinder. The original three-dimensional problem is reduced in two alternative
ways to a simple one-dimensional integral equation, which can be solved
numerically by a method of moments approach. Scattering cross sections of gold
nanowire antennas with different lengths and aspect ratios are analysed for the
optical and near-infrared spectral range. Comparison of the proposed
semi-analytical methods with the numerically rigorous discrete dipole
approximation method demonstrates good agreement as well as superior numerical
performance.
