Unraveling the mechanisms that influence and control the optical properties of highly-porous, periodic, and three-dimensional arrangements of nanoplasmonic structures can offer new approaches for the development of next generation sensors. Glancing angle deposition and atomic layer deposition can be used to create periodic nanostructures with multiple constituent materials, so-called heterostructured metamaterials.[4] In this study, we employ a two-source (ie. Au and Si) electron-beam-evaporated, ultra-high-vacuum glancing angle deposition which allows for the fabrication of highly-ordered and spatially-coherent super-lattice type Au-Si slanted columnar heterostructured thin films. We perform a combinatorial spectroscopic generalized ellipsometry and finite-element method calculation analysis to determine anisotropic optical properties. We observe the occurrence of a strong locally enhanced dark quadrupole plasmonic resonance mode (bow-tie mode) in the vicinity of the gold junctions, with a tunable and geometry dependent frequency in the near-infrared spectral range. In addition, inter-band transition-like modes are observed in the visible to ultra-violet spectral regions. We demonstrate that changes in the index of refraction due to the concentration variation of a chemical substance environment (gaseous or liquid) within a porous nanoplasmonic structure can be detected by transmitted intensity alterations down to 1 ppm sensitivity.

[1] Kabashin, A. V., et al. Nature materials 8.11 (2009): 867.

[2] Schmidt, Daniel, and Mathias Schubert. Journal of Applied Physics 114.8 (2013): 083510.

[3] Frölich, Andreas, and Martin Wegener. Optical Materials Express 1.5 (2011): 883-889.

[4] Sekora, Derek, et al. Applied Surface Science 421 (2017): 783-787.

Germanium is an indirect bandgap semiconductor with a bandgap of 1.55 µm at room temperature. Its band gap can be shifted to longer wavelengths and becomes direct by adding 5-20% Sn, which allows to detect efficiently in the IR range. Alloys of Ge and Sn are therefore of interest for photovoltaics, detectors and room temperature lasers (2-7 µm). Alpha-tin on the other hand, is a semimetal that, when under strain, has a very small band gap at the Gamma point of the Brillouin zone. We compare this direct band gap (E₀ peak) occurring in the infrared region of strained α-Sn on InSb to the absorption edge of Ge.

We investigate the temperature dependence of the complex dielectric function (DF) and interband critical points (CPs) of bulk Ge between 10 and 738 K using spectroscopic ellipsometry in the spectral range from 0.5 to 6.3 eV at a 70° angle of incidence [1]. The complex dielectric function at each temperature is fitted using a parametric oscillator model. Figure 1 shows that variations in temperature influence structures in the spectra of the DF. Furthermore, we analyze CPs in reciprocal space by studying Fourier coefficients as described in [2]. The peaks of the E₀ and E₀+Δ₀ CPs are relatively narrow (Fig. 2) which makes the analysis of their broadenings difficult. A small excitonic peak is visible at the absorption edge E₀, also shown in Fig. 2.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements were also performed on several epitaxially grown α-Sn layers on InSb in the spectral range of 0.03 to 6.5 eV. Comparing the results of the pseudo-dielectric function of Sn to the one of Ge shows a remarkable difference of both spectra in the IR- region, as demonstrated in Fig. 3. While structures at higher energies, such as the E₁ and E₁+Δ₁ CPs, are similar in shape and amplitude for both materials, the E₀-peak in α-Sn is significantly larger than in Ge. Therefore, we believe that the E₀ peak in the spectrum of Sn is not due to excitons but can probably be explained by other parameters which influence the band structure, such as strain, composition, or free carrier concentration. The large peak between E₀ and E₁ is an interference fringe. We also compare the temperature dependence of the E₀ gap in Ge and alpha-tin.

This work was supported by the National Science Foundation (DMR-1505172) and by the Army Research Office (W911NF-14-1-0072). C. Emminger gratefully acknowledges support from the Marshallplan-Jubiläumsstiftung.

References

[1] C. Emminger, MS thesis (Johannes Kepler University, Linz, Austria).

[2] S. D. Yoo and D. E. Aspnes. J. Appl. Phys. 89, 8183 (2001).

Metal nanoparticles (NPs) have the interesting property of behaving as efficient converters of EM radiation into heat. While this can occur via interband photoexcitation, the presence of a Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance provides an extra degree of freedom to tune and optimize the heating [1].

Assessing the temperature of plasmonic NPs during or immediately after illumination is not an easy task, and typically involves the use of models that necessarily have to simplify the complex temperature-dependent dielectric and thermodynamic response of nanosystems; for this reason, a measurement of the T-dependent optical behavior of the NPs at well-defined, externally controlled T would greatly contribute towards a better understanding of the thermoplasmonic properties of metal NPs.

Spectroscopic ellipsometry (SE), being a high-sensitive and non-destructive technique, is an ideal tool to investigate the optical response of NPs systems, provided that a proper model is used for data analysis.

We report a T-dependent investigation of the optical response of densely-packed 2D arrays of gold nanoparticles supported on an insulating nanopatterned substrate [2]. SE measurements were acquired in the 245-1450 nm spectral range, under high-vacuum conditions and in the 25-350 °C temperature interval [3]. Using a dedicated effective medium approximation developed for this kind of systems [2], we are able to reproduce the complex anisotropic optical response of this system employing morphological parameters deduced by ex-post AFM analysis; the temperature-dependent dielectric functions of Au, required as input in the model, was obtained in a dedicated SE measurement. The model yields a very good agreement with experimental data at relatively low T; however, though the appropriate T-dependent dielectric function of Au is systematically employed, the model is no longer able to reproduce the data obtained at the highest T. Indeed, a satisfactory agreement is attained introducing an effective correction to the Drude term of the dielectric function of Au, that keeps into account morphological effects affecting the NPs surface - such as softening or melting - that enhance the surface electron scattering rate. Our analysis thus shows that the T-dependent optical properties of metal NPs deviate from simplified expectations, and validate SE as valuable tool to study the complex, anisotropic properties of plasmonic NPs systems.

References

[1] A.O. Govorov and H.H. Richardson. Nano Today 1:30-38, 2007

[2] L. Anghinolfi, R. Moroni, L. Mattera, M. Canepa, F. Bisio. J. Phys. Chem. C, 115: 14036–14043, 2011

[3] M. Magnozzi, F. Bisio, M. Canepa, Appl. Surf. Sci., 421:651-655, 2017

Recently, two-dimensional (2D) WSe₂ has become a popular choice for nanoelectronic, optoelectronic, and valleytronic devices due to its layer-modulated bandgap, high mobility (~200cm²V^-1s^-1) and on-off ratio (10⁸), and large spin-orbit coupling effect. The performance of those novel WSe₂-based devices strongly depends on the intrinsic optical properties of WSe₂, which exhibit an intriguing layer dependency. Therefore, the accurate and quantitative characterization of the layer-dependent optical properties of WSe₂ is essential to the optimal design of those related devices.

In this work, the dielectric function, bandgaps, and critical points (CPs) of WSe₂ ranging from monolayer to bulk have been comprehensively investigated and analyzed by spectroscopic ellipsometry over an ultra-broad band (0.73-6.42eV). The dielectric function of high-quality uniform WSe₂ specimens prepared by chemical vapor deposition were firstly obtained from the ellipsometric spectra. Then the bandgaps of the WSe₂ films were determined from their corresponding absorption coefficient spectra. We experimentally observed that the bandgaps of the WSe­₂ films change from 1.63eV in monolayer to 1.21eV in bulk. Moreover, by using the CPs analysis, a series CPs (A-H) in the dielectric function spectra were precisely distinguished and many of them were rarely reported before. The positions of CPs (A-E) exhibit an obvious red shift when the layer number increases, while the CPs (F-H) exhibit a slight blue shift. The former phenomenon can be partly interpreted as the decaying geometrical confinement of excitons, while the underlying reasons for the latter merit further studies. These novel and advanced optical features will promote the fundamental understanding of the electronic structures and the development of WSe₂-based devices.

Thermal Evolution Process of MaPbI₃ Film Based on Spectroscopic Ellipsometry

Xiangqi Wang, Xueyan Shan, Hassan Siddique, Rucheng Dai, Zhongping Wang, Zejun Ding, and Zengming Zhang^*

University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China;

*Corresponding author: zzm@ustc.edu.cn

Abstract

During the last few years, the hybrid organic-inorganic methylammonium lead halide perovskite CH₃NH₃PbI₃ (MaPbI₃) has received great interest in the field of photovoltaics [1,2]. The relevant researches develop rapidly since the first realization of organic-inorganic hybrid solar cell, due to the excellent performance of MaPbI₃, such as high charge mobilities, suitable band gap and long carrier diffusion length. However the stability of MaPbI has been a key issue hinder the practical application [3]. Here we present in-situ spectroscopic ellipsomety measurement to understand the nature of thermal degradation process of MaPbI . The dynamic evolution process of dielectric constants of the as-prepared MaPbI₃ film through heating is obtained by an effective medium approximation model fitting. The proportion of MaPbI₃ and PbI is also obtained from the analysis of the ellipsometry data. The thickness of the film decrease in two-step, which is explained as the collapse of the PbI₂ frame. Our work provide the first in-situ detection of the optical properties through the degradation process of MaPbI₃ film, which can be consulted for further improving the stability of MaPbI₃.

References:

1. G.C. Xing et al, Long-Range Balanced Electron and Hole-Transport Lengths in Organic-Inorganic CH₃NH₃PbI₃, Science 342, 344-347 (2013).

2. J.Y. Jeng et al, CH₃NH₃PbI₃ Perovskite/Fullerene Planar-Heterojunction Hybrid Solar Cells, Advanced Materials 25, 3727-3732 (2013).

Arguably, the best path to produce a truly broadband, e.g., an IR-optical-UV-EUV (extreme ultraviolet) mirror, for a future space observatory is an EUV multilayer mirror coated by a very thin bare aluminum layer. However, using a bare Al layer presents challenges that first must be overcome. Al oxidizes rapidly when contact with the atmosphere occurs. The customary solution is to cover the mirror with a protective evaporated fluoride layer. Unfortunately, these are opaque under ~110 nm, whereas, bare Al itself is highly reflective down to 85nm and could be used as a mirror to that wavelength if a barrier were not required. Once the mirror is in space far from the Earth, where there is no oxygen, Al would no longer need a barrier layer. Could a barrier be removed in space? Neither fluorides nor aluminum oxide can be removed once they are deposited without damaging the mirror’s surface and destroying VUV reflectance. a-Si could be used as a protective layer that is potentially removable without roughening the Al surface. Dry hydrogen etching processes exist that could remove a silicon barrier as silane gas which would dissipate quickly in space. Such a process would use the Al layer as an etch stopping barrier in removing the a-Si protective layer. But is a-Si a suitable barrier for Al? We report our variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry studies of evaporated a-Si thin films on evaporated Al films. We discuss the conditions where a-Si can act as a protective layer to block aluminum oxidation.