Optical properties of gold island films—a spectroscopic ellipsometry study

Metal island films of noble metals are obtained by deposition on glass substrates during the first stage of evaporation process when supported metal nanoparticles are formed. These films show unique optical properties, owing to the localized surface plasmon resonance of free electrons in metal nanoparticles. In the present work we study the optical properties of gold metal island films deposited on glass substrates with different mass thicknesses at different substrate temperatures. The optical characterization is performed by spectroscopic ellipsometry at different angles of incidence and transmittance measurements at normal incidence in the same point of the sample. Fitting of the ellipsometric data allows determining the effective optical constants and thickness of the island film. A multiple oscillator approach was used to successfully represent the dispersion of the effective optical constants of the films.     

Preparation and characterisation of silver particulate films on softened polystyrene substrates

The preparation of silver particulate films on softened polystyrene (PS) substrates and their characterisation using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and optical absorption spectroscopy is reported in this paper. Silver films of 150 nm thickness were vacuum deposited onto PS coated glass substrates held at temperatures in the range 415–475 K at different deposition rates of 4 to 12 Å/s. SEM studies indicate that films deposited at 415 K are close to a semicontinuous structure and the structure is discontinuous at higher temperatures. The film morphology is strongly dependent on the deposition rate at any given substrate temperature. The film agglomeration increases with increasing rate of deposition. In the XPS studies, considerable attenuation of the signal corresponding to silver is observed at lower electron take of angles (ETOAs). This indicates that Ag is formed beneath the PS surface. Optical absorption studies showed an interesting red shift of the plasmon resonance wavelength for lower deposition rates again indicating that a sub-surface particulate structure is formed at lower deposition rates. These results are consistent with reported observations.     

Thermal stability of silver thin films on zirconia substrates

The thermal stability of silver thin films between 100 nm and 820 nm thick deposited onto single crystal yttria-stabilised zirconia (YSZ) substrates by evaporation was investigated by annealing the films between 250 °C and 550 °C for different durations. Films approximately 100 nm thick were thermally unstable at temperatures as low as 250 °C. A dewetting process occurred in which grain boundaries ruptured, to uncover the substrate and reduce the overall energy of the system, by a combination of grain boundary grooving at the outer surface and void growth at the Ag-YSZ interface. The surface self diffusion coefficient of Ag was determined from the kinetics of the process to be 2.6 ± 0.3 × 10^− 5 cm²s^− 1 at 500 °C. The resulting silver morphology ranged from ‘self-organised’ interconnected silver network structures to completely isolated silver islands. A structure predominance map of the rearrangement process is presented.     

Investigation of structural properties of ITO thin films deposited on different substrates

The influence of the substrate nature on the structure and morphology of ITO thin films grown by thermal evaporation in vacuum is investigated. The as-prepared metal films with Sn/In molar ratio of 0.1 were subsequently annealed for 2 h at 723 K in air (to obtain tin doped indium oxide), then annealed in vacuum at 523 K, followed by UV irradiation (to reduce the electrical resistivity). Irrespective of substrate nature, XRD data evidence a (222) preferential orientation in films. Substrate nature, annealing in vacuum and UV irradiation influence the structure, morphology, optical, electrical and surface wetting properties of the films' surface.     

Optical properties of silver sulphide thin films formed on evaporated Ag by a simple sulphurization method

Silver sulphide (Ag₂S) thin films were grown on the surface of silver films (Ag) deposited on glass substrate by using a simple chemical sulphurization method. According to X-ray diffraction analysis, the Ag₂S thin films display low intensity peaks at 34.48°, 36.56°, and 44.28°, corresponding to diffraction from (100), (112) and (103) planes of the acanthite phase (monoclinic). A model of the type Ag₂S/Ag/glass was deduced from spectroscopic ellipsometric measurements. Also, the optical constants (n, k) of the system were determined. Furthermore, the optical properties as solar selective absorber for collector applications were assessed. The optical reflectance of the Ag₂S/Ag thin film systems exhibits the expected behavior for an ideal selective absorber, showing a low reflectance in the wavelength range below 2 µm and a high reflectance for wavelengths higher than that value. An absorptance about 70% and an emittance about 3% or less were calculated for several samples.     

Preparation and characterization of oxidized silver thin films

Silver reacts readily with atomic oxygen, which is present in oxygen plasmas and in low earth orbit. To study the oxidation process, silver films were deposited by r.f. sputtering or by thermal evaporation, then exposed to an oxygen plasma from an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) source. In-situ spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE) was used to monitor deposition and oxidation, and determine final thicknesses and optical constants. SE indicated that oxidation began at the surface of the silver and proceeded downward, with a rough interface which increased steadily in thickness. Oxide films were nearly transparent over the visible spectrum, where the refractive index was above 2, and were strongly absorbing below 400 nm. Completely oxidized films were twice as thick as the original silver films. They appeared smooth to the eye, and were relatively stable in ambient air. Films that were not oxidized all the way through were much less stable in air, changing interference color and appearing rough within a few days. Oxide films deposited by reactive sputtering of silver in an O₂ background had higher refractive index ( > 2.5) than the ECR oxidized silver films. They were also relatively stable in air, unless deposited onto silver, in which case the samples changed color and appeared rough within a few days, similar to the partially oxidized silver films.     

Effect of silver nanoparticles on photo-induced reorientation of azo groups in polymer films

A series of polymer films containing azo groups and silver nanoparticles were prepared. Photo-induced reorientation of the film was conducted under irradiation of polarized light with wavelength at 365 nm, 442 nm and 532 nm, respectively. The influence of the concentration of dopant silver on the reorientation of the azo groups was studied. An enhancement of about 50% for the reorientation rate and about 70% for the reorientation amplitude was achieved. From a comparison of the enhancement obtained by irradiating with three different light sources, it was realized that the mechanism for enhancement of reorientation of azo groups is due to plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles doped in the polymer films.     

Long-range surface plasmon polariton waveguides containing very thin spin-coated silver films

We fabricated very thin solid silver films with thicknesses below 50 nm using a spin coating method. An aqueous silver ionic complex solution was spin-coated and then thermally cured for a few minutes at a low temperature. The properties of the spin-coated silver films were compared to the properties of silver films deposited by thermal evaporation. The spin-coated thin silver films possessed silver crystallinity and a surface roughness of ~ 2.83 nm, while the thermally evaporated thin silver films also possessed silver crystallinity with a surface roughness of ~ 2.44 nm. Long-range surface plasmon polariton (LR-SPP) waveguides fabricated by both spin coating and thermal evaporation were also characterized and compared. The propagation losses of the 23 nm thick spin-coated and the 19 nm thick evaporated LR-SPP waveguides with strip widths of 7 μm were 3.6 and 4.2 dB/cm, respectively, and their coupling losses were 1.4 and 1.0 dB/2facets, respectively. The use of the spin coating method is a very cost effective solution because the films can be formed at low temperature in a short period of time without requiring a vacuum system. In addition, there are many potential applications of using spin-coated very thin solid silver films in LR-SPP waveguides and nano electrical circuit patterns.     

Optical and electrical characterization of chemically and photopolymerized C60 thin films on silicon substrates

A comparative characterization of C₆₀ thin films grown on silicon substrate by Physical Vapor Deposition and polymerized by chemical reaction with 1,8-octanediamine vapor or UV Pulsed laser irradiation has been carried out by means of Atomic Force Microscopy, and optical reflectance, transmittance and photoluminescence spectroscopies. The photovoltaic response and electrical characteristics of Au/C₆₀/Si diode structures have been investigated. The greatest photoluminescence efficiency and light transmittance, and at the same time the least photocurrent of diode structure were observed for chemically polymerized C₆₀. Found differences in morphology, optical, photoelectric and electrical properties of C₆₀ films polymerized by two methods indicate a difference in their composition.     

Effect of silver doping on optical property of diamond like carbon films

Optical properties of silver doped diamond like carbon films (Ag:DLC) deposited by the RF reactive sputtering technique were studied in detail. The chemical binding energy and the composition of the films were investigated by using an X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Optical transparency and optical band gap decreased with the silver incorporation to the DLC film. Optical band gap calculated from transmittance spectra decreased from 2.55 to 1.95 eV with a variation of Ag concentration from 0 to 12.5 at.%. Urbach parameter determined from the band tail of the transmittance spectra showed to increase with the doping concentration.     

Infrared light absorption of silver film coated on the surface of femtosecond laser microstructured silicon in SF6

Absorptive properties of 100 nm thick silver (Ag) films coated on the surface of microstructured silicon prepared by femtosecond laser pulses irradiation in SF₆ were measured in a wavelength range of 1.33–16.7 µm. Greatly enhanced light absorption of Ag films was observed in the entire measured wavelength range. For sample with 6–8 µm spikes, the absorptance is approximately 0.9 and essentially unchanged in the wavelength region of 1.33–10 µm, and decreases slightly when λ > 10 µm, but keeps higher than 0.75 over the whole measured wavelength range. The infrared absorption is strongly related to the height and density of the spikes. While for the samples without Ag coating, the absorption is much lower than that of the Ag films. Multiple reflection of light between spikes and surface plasmon excitation of nano-particles on the spikes surface may lead to the strongly enhanced infrared absorption in such a wide wavelength range.     

Localized surface plasmon resonance effect on photo-induced alignment of films composed of silver nanoparticles and azopolymers with cyano or methyl substitutes on azobenzene moieties

In this paper, we report the localized surface plasmon resonance of silver nanoparticles on the photo-induced alignment properties of azopolymers. Two series of azopolymer films doped with silver nanoparticles (SNPs) were prepared with different contents of SNPs, in which two side chain azopolymers, with cyano group (AzoCN) and methyl group (AzoCH₃) as substitutes, respectively, were designed and synthesized because of the different interaction between SNPs and each kind of substitute. Tapping-mode atomic force microscope imaging was used to characterize the distribution of SNPs in azopolymer films, from which it was found that in AzoCN film SNPs were almost uniformly distributed, whereas in AzoCH₃ film several decades of single SNP aggregated into a cluster. Photo-induced alignment of azopolymer films doped with SNPs was performed under irradiation of linearly polarized light at 442 nm. The experimental results reveal that there is an obvious difference in photo-induced alignment behavior between two series of azopolymer films. For AzoCN, the alignment rate decreased with the increase of SNPs concentration, and when the SNPs' concentration achieved 0.24% the ratio of alignment rate reached the minimum, about 77% of that of the undoped sample. For AzoCH₃, the alignment rate increased along with the increase of the content of SNPs, showing that the alignment rate, at least for “fast” process, could be enhanced by doping SNPs. This phenomenon resulted from localized surface plasmon resonance of SNPs and was also found to be affected by the chemical structure and the condensed state of azopolymers doped with SNPs.     

Characterization of chemically sprayed CdO films on borate and phosphate glass substrates produced by melt-quenching technique

The properties of substrates used to deposit thin films are an important parameter in thin film production. Instead of using a commercial substrate, in this work, borate and phosphate glasses have been obtained by classic melt-quenching technique to be used as substrates for CdO films. Also, a microscope glass substrate has been used to compare the coating properties by other glass substrates. All films have been produced by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis technique. The substrate temperature has been selected as 275 ± 5 °C. Thicknesses and some optical parameters such as refractive index and extinction coefficient have been determined by spectroscopic ellipsometry. Absorbance and transmittance spectra have been taken by UV/VIS spectrophotometer. Four-probe method has been used to determine the electrical resistivity values of the films. XRD investigations have shown that type of the substrate dramatically affects the characteristics of CdO films. CdO film deposited on phosphate glass substrate has the best structural quality. Atomic Force Microscope has been used to investigate the surface properties and roughness values of the films.     

Enhanced light absorption of Ag films deposited onto femtosecond laser microstructured silicon

Absorptive properties of silver (Ag) films with the thickness varied from 160 nm to 340 nm deposited onto the surface of femtosecond laser microstructured silicon by vacuum thermal evaporation were measured in a wavelength range of 0.3-16.7 μm. Greatly enhanced light absorption of Ag films has been observed in the whole measured wavelength range. For the same Ag film thickness (268 nm), the light absorption was strongly depended on the height and spacing of the spikes, especially in the region of 1-16.7 μm. The relation between light absorption and thickness of Ag films has also been investigated, it was shown that the light absorption decreases with the increasing thickness of Ag films. The strongly enhanced light absorption in such a wide wavelength range is mainly ascribed to the multiple reflection of light between spikes and surface plasmon excitation of noble metal nano-particles on the spikes surface.     

Optical properties of silver, gold and aluminum ultra-thin granular films evaporated on oxidized aluminum

The reflectivity of silver, gold and aluminum granular ultra-thin films deposited on an oxidized aluminum substrate has been measured in a spectral range from 300 to 700 nm. This measurement was done at 45° with p-polarized light, during the deposition of the different metals and also after a 300°C annealing at the end of the evaporation process. Some measurements were also performed in air at different incidence angles with p- and s-polarized light. Plasmon resonance effects of metal particles are seen directly in the reflectivity spectrum.     

Optical properties of porous anodic aluminum oxide thin films on quartz substrates

Porous anodic aluminum oxide (AAO) thin films on quartz substrates were fabricated via evaporation of a 100-nm thick Al, followed by anodization with different durations and pore widening and Al removal by chemical etching. The transmittance and reflectance of AAO films on quartz substrates were measured by optical spectrophotometry. The microstructure and morphology were examined by scanning electron microscopy. The pore diameter of AAO films after pore widening and Al removal is 60 ± 4 nm and the interpore distance is 88 ± 5 nm. It is found that the reflectance decreases and the transmittance increases with the increase of the anodization time and pore widening. Compared to a bare substrate, the transmittance of AAO films after pore widening and Al removal is about 3.0% higher, while the reflectance is about 3.0% lower over a wide wavelength range. Additionally, after pore widening and Al removal, when AAO films are prepared on both sides of the quartz substrate, the highest transmittance is about 99.0% in the wavelength range 570-680 nm. The optical constants and thickness of AAO films after pore widening and Al removal were retrieved from normal incidence transmittance data. Results show that the refractive index is lower than 1.25 in the visible optical region and that the porosity is about 0.70.     

Optical and mechanical characterization of zirconia-carbon nanocomposite films

The focus of the present work is the study of carbon co-deposition effect on the optical and mechanical properties of zirconia films. Optical and dielectric constant, band gap and transition lifetime of such composite systems were determined, as well as their elasticity properties. The thin ZrO_2−x-C films were sputter-deposited on silicon and polycarbonate, from a pure ZrO₂ and graphite targets in a radio-frequency argon plasma.Besides the zirconia phase and crystalline parameter changes induced by carbon addition, the electronic properties to the films were significantly modified: a drastical optical gap lowering was observed along an increased electronic dielectric constant and refractive index. The invariance of the film elasticity modulus and the similarity of the optical transition lifetime values with those of pure amorphous carbon films indicate an immiscibility of the ceramic and carbon components of the film structure.     

Optical and structural properties of sol-gel prepared MgZnO alloy thin films

Mg_xZn_1−xO (x = 0-0.5) alloy thin films were prepared by a sol-gel dip-coating method. Mg_0.1Zn_0.9O and Mg_0.5Zn_0.5O films prepared were annealed in the range of 400-900 °C to investigate their thermal stability and temperature-dependent optical properties. The Mg_0.1Zn_0.9O films were thermally stable in the investigated annealing temperature range and exhibited the maximum ultraviolet emission at 800 °C. The segregation of MgO occurred in the Mg_0.5Zn_0.5O films, and the near-band-edge ultraviolet emission of this alloy was enhanced with increasing annealing temperature. The Mg saturation content in the sol-gel prepared MgZnO alloys was found to be about 0.23 where the band gap extended to 3.48 eV.     

Optical switch from silver nanocomposite thin films

Silver nanoparticles capped with sodium alginate were assembled into thin films by using the layer-by-layer dipping technique. Composite films were built by sequential dipping of a glass slide in either anionic alginate capped nanoparticles or cationic Poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDADMAC). The growth of the film was characterized using UV-Vis spectroscopy by monitoring the increase in absorbance at 420 nm which correspond to the silver nanoparticles plasmon band. The final films formed onto glass slides displayed and interesting color shift upon exposure to water or to a less polar solvent such as ethanol. In this research, changes in spectral absorbance of the nanoparticles film were monitored as a function of ethanol content (0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100%) in water. The color shift from yellow to red color was explained by the changes in the dielectric constant of the silver nanoparticles surrounding medium which induce a shift in their plasmon band absorbance. These composite thin films displayed fast color change and could therefore be used in sensing application as well as for optical switches.     

Post-annealing temperature dependence of infrared absorption enhancement of polymer on evaporated silver films

Infrared absorption spectra were measured at normal incidence of radiation for polymers on post-annealed silver films of 4-10 nm mass thicknesses that had been deposited in ultra high vacuum onto Si substrate surfaces. Results show that the polymer absorption intensity depends on the annealing temperature and the silver mass thickness.Results clarified that no simple relation existed, such as a negative correlation between reflectivity and the infrared absorption enhancement, even when the mass thickness was made constant and the silver particles' size and shape were changed. For infrared absorption intensity to become large, particles must be positioned discretely, but if the distance between particles is too large, absorption intensity decreases. Moreover, results verified that optimal thin-film morphology was different according to the wavelength region.