1.
Opt Express
; 20(21): 23215-26, 2012 Oct 08.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-23188286
ABSTRACT
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.