Optical interpretation for plasmonic adjustment of nanostructured Ag-NiO thin films

Abstract

Ultrathin Ag and Ni/NiO films are sequentially produced on Corning glass and silicon substrates by means of magnetron sputtering. Post annealing treatment in a furnace with air at [Formula: see text]C and [Formula: see text]C may lead to the formation of Ag nanostructures in NiO environment. Some of these samples present local surface plasmon resonances (SPRs). The sequence in which each layer is deposited, as well as, the state of the structure on which the layer is deposited, appears to play a pivotal role in the optical properties of these nanostructures, which are attributed to the growth properties of the nanocomposite thin films. Ultimately, rigorous theoretical calculations have been made for comparison and discussion with the experimental results.

Calculation of the Localized Surface Plasmon Resonances of Au Nanoparticles Embedded in NiO

“…The more intense SPRs of Ag combined with the better compatibility and easier synthesis of Au NPs indicate that these novel structures could be highly suitable for surface enhanced Raman scattering [37]. Additionally, the enhancement of many physical properties due to LSPRs in, for example, the light-emitting diodes (LEDs) devices is an important issue; therefore, nanostructures like those of Ag are more likely of being a potential candidate in applications [1].…”

“…Over the years, the scientific interest has been concentrated on metal's surface plasmon resonances (SPRs) and localized SPRs or LSPRs (for metallic NPs) since the latest have the unique ability to amplify multiple times the induced electromagnetic field once it is radiated on their surface [1]. This phenomenon prioritizes these metallic NPs as highly remarkable and suitable for a series of operations [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10].…”

On the Localized Surface Plasmonic Resonances of AgPd Alloy Nanoparticles by Experiment and Theory

“…The NPs are placed on top of SiO 2 . It is proven from previously published articles [23,25] that despite the non-periodical behavior of material fabricated via experimental methods, there is practically a suitable agreement between the theoretical and experimental results. To calculate the disorder structure found experimentally is very difficult, if not impossible, because it needs a calculation in a big supercell, which is time and memory consuming.…”

“…The presence of a small discontinuity in the absorbance spectra at 2.2 eV could then be the fingerprint for the detection of PdO. Similarly, in Ag(NiO) composite materials, we could always detect the bandgap edge of NiO [25].…”

“…As RCWA requires less computational time, it outperforms other solution methods such as Density Functional Theory (DFT) and Time-Dependent Density Functional Theory (TD-DFT), which need to increase their mesh linearly as this length increases, reducing that way the computational time [25].…”