Jaiswal J, Mourya S, Malik G, Chandra R. Tunable optical properties of plasmonic Au/Al
2O
3 nanocomposite thin films analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry accounting surface characteristics.
JOURNAL OF THE OPTICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA. A, OPTICS, IMAGE SCIENCE, AND VISION 2018;
35:740-747. [PMID:
29726490 DOI:
10.1364/josaa.35.000740]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2017] [Accepted: 03/13/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In the present work, we have fabricated plasmonic gold/alumina nanocomposite (Au/Al2O3 NC) thin films on a glass substrate at room temperature by RF magnetron co-sputtering. The influence of the film thickness (∼10-40 nm) on the optical and other physical properties of the samples was investigated and correlated with the structural and compositional properties. The X-ray diffractometer measurement revealed the formation of Au nanoparticles with average crystallite size (5-9.2 nm) embedded in an amorphous Al2O3 matrix. The energy-dispersive X ray and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy results confirmed the formation of Au/Al2O3 NC quantitatively and qualitatively and it was observed that atomic% of Au increased by increasing thickness. The optical constants of the plasmonic Au/Al2O3 NC thin films were examined by variable angle spectroscopic ellipsometry in the wide spectral range of 246-1688 nm, accounting the surface characteristics in the optical stack model, and the obtained results are expected to be unique. Additionally, a thickness-dependent blueshift (631-590 nm) of surface plasmon resonance peak was observed in the absorption spectra. These findings of the plasmonic Au/Al2O3 NC films may allow the design and fabrication of small, compact, and efficient devices for optoelectronic and photonic applications.
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