Tarnishing of silver subwavelength slit gratings and its effect on extraordinary optical transmission

Gorkunov, M. V.; Артемов, В. В.; Yudin, S. G.; Palto, S. P.

doi:10.1016/j.photonics.2013.10.001

Cited by 8 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…Looking at the figures of merit of plasmonic materials, Ag immediately stands out as the best choice for the realization of resonant nanosystems across the visible–near-UV range. − The performances of Ag in terms of optical near-field enhancement and its efficiency in converting electromagnetic energy into heat at the nanoscale can be quantified by the Faraday and the Joule numbers, where Ag outnumbers Au by a factor of 24 and 18, respectively. , Silver is therefore the go-to material for the fabrication of metallic nanostructures for plasmon-enhanced spectroscopies, − thermoplasmonics, ,− or plasmonic–optoelectronic devices. − However, realizing this striking plasmonic response of Ag in experiments is not straightforward: Ag surfaces and nanostructures are indeed affected by tarnishing issues, a superposition of sulfidation − and oxidation − phenomena, that lead to a strong red shift and broadening and damping of the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) peak, ,,, thereby deteriorating the response with respect to ideal, pristine Ag.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

et al. 2020

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Silver represents, by and large, the best plasmonic metal available, due to its very low optical losses in a broad photonenergy range encompassing all the visible optical spectrum. Its performances are, more often than not, severely hampered by the presence of a few-nanometer thick surface-tarnish layer; thermal annealing under high-vacuum (HV) conditions may however lead to its decomposition, thereby allowing to attain the clean-metal response.Here, we report an experimental investigation of the temperature dependence of the plasmonic response of Ag nanoparticles, either clean or tarnished, by means of in situ optical spectroscopies under HV conditions. For tarnished nanoparticles, we observed the temperature dynamics of thermal decomposition of the contamination layer in real time and compared it with the corresponding behavior of spatially extended, flat surfaces. For clean Ag nanoparticles we witness instead a remarkable temperature invariance of the localizedplasmon response, indicating Ag as a potential candidate for temperature-invariant thermoplasmonics applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

et al. 2020

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“…In addition to our own experiments, it has also previously been shown that dramatic changes in the plasmonic enhancement properties, such as the resonant wavelength and the intensity of the absorption peak, take place within days of exposure to ambient conditions with unprotected metallic silver substrates 10 . Moreover, the tarnishing resistance is further supported by the observation that no tarnishing related morphological changes, which have been reported with metallic silver 14 , could be seen on the non-activated AgCl crystal substrates.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

A solution to the fabrication and tarnishing problems of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) fiber probes

Matikainen

Nuutinen

Vahimaa

et al. 2015

Sci Rep

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Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) fiber probes have enormous potential in optical sensing applications. However, their widespread use has been hindered by two major obstacles: the difficulty of fabricating the required silver nanostructures on optical fibers and the tarnishing of silver, rapidly degrading their sensing properties. Here we propose a solution to these dilemmas by abandoning the use of metallic silver and conventional nanofabrication procedures. Instead, we base our fabrication on chemically stable silver chloride and show that it can be directly grown on the optical fibers without any advanced fabrication equipment. As silver chloride itself is not SERS-active, we demonstrate how to “activate” the probes by turning the crystals into metallic silver nanostructures via photoreduction. We verify that if stored in the non-activated stage, the sensing properties of the structures remain unchanged. Finally, we demonstrate the high sensitivity (signal-to-noise ratio up to 42 ± 3 dB) of the probes in real-time in situ measurements at nanomolar analyte concentrations.

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“…SPRs of supported Ag NPs have been demonstrated to improve the efficiency of solar cells, and to lead to metamaterials for silver subwavelength slit gratings or plasmon-active enhanced tips for Raman spectroscopy. However, surface tarnishing and/or chemical degradation of silver nanostructures upon exposure to the atmosphere decrease the quantum efficiency of the solar cells, reduce the extraordinary optical transmission of the metamaterials and limit the field enhancement of tips used for sensing [5][6][7][8][9].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of nitrile species on Ag nanostructures supported on a-Al₂O₃: a new corrosion route for silver exposed to the atmosphere

2017

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The aging of supported Ag nanostructures upon storage in ambient conditions (air and room temperature) for 20 months has been studied. The samples are produced on glass substrates by pulsed laser deposition (PLD); first a 15 nm thick buffer layer of amorphous aluminum oxide (a-AlO) is deposited, followed by PLD of Ag. The amount of deposited Ag ranges from that leading to a discontinuous layer up to an almost-percolated layer with a thickness of <6 nm. Some regions of the as-grown silver layers are converted, by laser induced dewetting, into round isolated nanoparticles (NPs) with diameters of up to ∼25 nm. The plasmonic, structural and chemical properties of both as-grown and laser exposed regions upon aging have been followed using extinction spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. The results show that the discontinuous as-grown regions are optically and chemically unstable and that the metal becomes oxidized faster, the smaller the amount of Ag. The corrosion leads to the formation of nitrile species due to the reaction between NO species from the atmosphere adsorbed at the surface of Ag, and hydrocarbons adsorbed in defects at the surface of the a-AlO layer during the deposition of the Ag nanostructures by PLD that migrate to the surface of the metal with time. The nitrile formation thus results in the main oxidation mechanism and inhibits almost completely the formation of sulphate/sulphide. Finally, the optical changes upon aging offer an easy-to-use tool for following the aging process. They are dominated by an enhanced absorption in the UV side of the spectrum and a blue-shift of the surface plasmon resonance that are, respectively, related to the formation of a dielectric overlayer on the Ag nanostructure and changes in the dimensions/features of the nanostructures, both due to the oxidation process.

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Tarnishing of silver subwavelength slit gratings and its effect on extraordinary optical transmission

Cited by 8 publications

References 38 publications

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

A solution to the fabrication and tarnishing problems of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) fiber probes

Formation of nitrile species on Ag nanostructures supported on a-Al₂O₃: a new corrosion route for silver exposed to the atmosphere

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Tarnishing of silver subwavelength slit gratings and its effect on extraordinary optical transmission

Cited by 8 publications

References 38 publications

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

Thermoplasmonics of Ag Nanoparticles in a Variable-Temperature Bath

A solution to the fabrication and tarnishing problems of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) fiber probes

Formation of nitrile species on Ag nanostructures supported on a-Al2O3: a new corrosion route for silver exposed to the atmosphere

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Formation of nitrile species on Ag nanostructures supported on a-Al₂O₃: a new corrosion route for silver exposed to the atmosphere