Substrate Dependence in the Formation of Au Nanoislands for Plasmonic Platform Application

Abstract

In this work, the influence of the various substrates on Au nanoisland formation has been studied. Nanostructures were obtained via annealing of thin Au films. In order to determine nanoisland formation mechanisms, correlation between an initial film thickness and temperature of formation, shapes, and dimensions of nanostructures was examined. For the surface morphology studies, nanograin structure, and chemical composition analysis, SEM, HR TEM, and EDS measurements were performed, respectively. Morphology studies showed that the temperature at which nanostructures form varies for different substrates, which indicates high impact of the substrate material on the nanostructure formation. In the case of silicon substrate, besides the phenomenon of spinodal dewetting, the effect of eutectics on the nanostructures was additionally taken into consideration.

Evolution of Ag nanostructures created from thin films: UV–vis absorption and its theoretical predictions

“…In this case, however, it is possible that the edges of the nanostructures have already slightly melted. The authors of this work observed a similar exponent for Au nanostructures obtained by the same method [22].…”

Plasmon-enhanced photoluminescence from TiO2 and TeO2 thin films doped by Eu3+ for optoelectronic applications

“…Nanoislands cover the whole substrate surface. Additionally, the HRTEM image of a cross section of a single nanoisland is shown in Figure 2b [ 25 – 26 ]. It can be seen, that the nanostructure with a diameter of ca.…”

“… (a) SEM image of gold plasmonic platform, (b) HRTEM image of the cross section of a single gold nanoisland [ 25 ]. Figure 2a ,b was reproduced from [ 25 ] (© 2019 M. Łapiński et al, published by Springer Nature, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). …”

“…Samples were annealed at 550 °C for 15 min in air atmosphere. The formation of metallic nanostructures has been described in detail in our previous works [24][25][26]. On the prepared plasmonic platforms a dielectric buffer layer was deposited.…”

Gold Nano-Island Platforms for Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensing: A Short Review

“…The principal parameters that affect dewetting of thin metal films are the thickness of the film, the temperature of annealing, and the substrate [ 9 ]. It has been recently demonstrated that the temperatures at which nano-islands form vary for different substrate materials [ 10 ]. The grain size, in the case of polycrystalline films, may also affect the dewetting phenomenon.…”