Infrared surface plasmon resonance of AZO-Ag-AZO sandwich thin films.

Near-infrared surface plasmon resonance (SPR) spectra were collected of thin multilayer films of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) / silver (Ag) / AZO on BK-7 glass in the Kretschmann configuration in air, with the silver layer thickness varying from 5 nm to 50 nm. The SPR results were interpreted by modeling the reflectance with a five-layer transfer-matrix method, with the aid of a simplex algorithm. The model indicated that the Ag plasma frequency was significantly higher than the bulk value, possibly due to Schottky effect charge transfer from the AZO to the Ag layer. Continuous silver films were made as thin as 10 nm, indicating an inhibition of metal island formation for Ag deposited on AZO.

Characterizing the molecular order of phosphonic acid self-assembled monolayers on indium tin oxide surfaces.

Self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) of alkanephosphonic acids with chain lengths between 8 and 18 carbon units were formed on thin films of indium tin oxide (ITO) sputter-deposited on silicon substrates with 400 nm thermally grown SiO(2). The silicon substrates, while not intended for use in near-IR or visible optics applications, do provide smooth surfaces that permit systematic engineering of grain size and surface roughness as a function of the sputter pressure. Argon sputter pressures from 4 to 20 mTorr show systematic changes in surface morphology ranging from smooth, micrometer-sized grain structures to <50 nm grains with 3× higher surface roughness. Near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure (NEXAFS) spectroscopy experiments are conducted for alkanephosphonic acids deposited on these wide range of ITO surfaces to evaluate the effects of these morphological features on monolayer ordering. Results indicate that long-chain SAMs are more highly ordered, and have a smaller tilt angle, than short-chain SAMs. Surprisingly, the 1-octadecyl phosphonic acids maintain their order as the lateral grain dimensions of the ITO surface shrink to ∼50 nm. It is only when the ITO surface roughness becomes greater than the SAM chain length (∼15 Å) that SAMs are observed to become relatively disordered.