Resonant Raman study of phonon states in gas-evaporated Ge small particles

Growth model and structure evolution of Ag layers deposited on Ge films

We investigated the crystallinity and optical parameters of silver layers of 10-35 nm thickness as a function 2-10 nm thick Ge wetting films deposited on SiO₂ substrates. X-ray reflectometry (XRR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements proved that segregation of germanium into the surface of the silver film is a result of the gradient growth of silver crystals. The free energy of Ge atoms is reduced by their migration from boundaries of larger grains at the Ag/SiO₂ interface to boundaries of smaller grains near the Ag surface. Annealing at different temperatures and various durations allowed for a controlled distribution of crystal dimensions, thus influencing the segregation rate. Furthermore, using ellipsometric and optical transmission measurements we determined the time-dependent evolution of the film structure. If stored under ambient conditions for the first week after deposition, the changes in the transmission spectra are smaller than the measurement accuracy. Over the course of the following three weeks, the segregation-induced effects result in considerably modified transmission spectra. Two months after deposition, the slope of the silver layer density profile derived from the XRR spectra was found to be inverted due to the completed segregation process, and the optical transmission spectra increased uniformly due to the roughened surfaces, corrosion of silver and ongoing recrystallization. The Raman spectra of the Ge wetted Ag films were measured immediately after deposition and ten days later and demonstrated that the Ge atoms at the Ag grain boundaries form clusters of a few atoms where the Ge-Ge bonds are still present.

Synthesis and structure of free-standing germanium quantum dots and their application in live cell imaging

Colloidally synthesized free-standing Ge qdots with a unique core–shell structure were demonstrated to be a viable bio-imaging probe.

Fabrication of multilayered Ge nanocrystals by magnetron sputtering and annealing

Multilayered Ge nanocrystals embedded in Si and Ge oxide films have been fabricated on Si substrate by a (SiO(2)+Ge)/(SiO(2)+GeO(2)) superlattice approach, using an rf magnetron sputtering technique with a Ge+SiO(2) composite target and subsequent thermal annealing in N(2) ambient at 750 °C for 5 min. X-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements indicated the formation of Ge nanocrystals with an average size estimated to be 9.8 nm. Raman scattering spectra showed a peak of the Ge-Ge vibrational mode shifted downwards to 298.8 cm(-1), which was caused by quantum confinement of phonons in the Ge nanocrystals. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS) analysis demonstrated that the Ge chemical state is mainly Ge(0) in the (SiO(2)+Ge) layer and Ge(4+) in the (SiO(2)+GeO(2)) layer in the superlattice structure. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that Ge nanocrystals were confined in (SiO(2)+Ge) layers, and had good crystallinity. This superlattice approach significantly improved both the size uniformity of Ge nanocrystals and their uniformity of spacing on the 'Z' growth direction compared with the conventional Ge-ncs fabrication method using a single and thick SiO(2) matrix film.

Far-Infrared Characteristics of ZnS Nanoparticles Measured by Terahertz Time-Domain Spectroscopy

The optical and dielectric properties of ZnS nanoparticles are studied by use of terahertz time-domain spectroscopy (THz-TDS) over the frequency range from 0.3 to 3.0 THz. The effective medium approach combined with the pseudo-harmonic model of the dielectric response, where nanoparticles are embedded in the host medium, provides a good fit on the experimental results. The extrapolation of the measured data indicates that the absorption is dominated by the transverse optical mode localized at 11.6+/-0.2 THz. Meanwhile, the low-frequency phonon resonance of ZnS nanoparticles is compared with the single-crystal ZnS. The THz-TDS clearly reveals the remarkable distinction in the low-frequency phonon resonances between ZnS nanoparticles and single-crystal ZnS. The results demonstrate that the acoustic phonons become confined in small-size nanoparticles.