Formation of gold nanoparticles in heat-treated reactive co-sputtered Au-SiO2 thin films

In this work, formation of gold nanoparticles in radio frequency (RF) reactive magnetron co-sputtered Au-SiO₂ thin films post annealed at different temperatures in Ar + H₂ atmosphere has been investigated. Optical, surface topography, chemical state and crystalline properties of the prepared films were analyzed by using UV-visible spectrophotometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray diffractometry (XRD) techniques, respectively. Optical absorption spectrum of the Au-SiO₂ thin films annealed at 800 °C showed one surface plasmon resonance (SPR) absorption peak located at 520 nm relating to gold nanoparticles. According to XPS analysis, it was found that the gold nanoparticles had a tendency to accumulate on surface of the heat-treated films in the metallic state. AFM images showed that the nanoparticles were uniformly distributed on the film surface with grain size of about 30 nm. Using XRD analysis average crystalline size of the Au particles was estimated to about 20 nm.     

Formation of CdS nanoparticles using starch as capping agent

CdS nanoparticles have been synthesized using starch as capping agent in aqueous solution. The morphology and crystalline structure of such samples were measured by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, respectively. The average grain size of the nanoparticles determined by these techniques was of the order of 5 nm. Photoluminescence of CdS nanoparticles shows a strong emission peak below to the band gap bulk semiconductor attributed to center trap states, also the broadening peak was interpreted in terms of electron-phonon interaction.     

Optical and nonlinear optical characteristics of the Ge and GaAs nanoparticle suspensions prepared by laser ablation

The laser ablation of Ge and GaAs targets placed in water and ethanol was carried out using the fundamental radiation of nanosecond Nd:YLF laser. The results of preparation and the optical and nonlinear optical characterization of the Ge and GaAs nanoparticle suspensions are presented. The considerable shift of the band gap energy of the nanoparticles compared to the bulk semiconductors was observed. The distribution of nanoparticle sizes was estimated in the range of 1.5-10 nm on the basis of the TEM and spectral measurements. The nonlinear refractive indices and nonlinear absorption coefficients of Ge and GaAs nanoparticles were defined by the z-scan technique using second harmonic radiation of picosecond Nd:YAG laser (λ = 532 nm).     

Self-assembled and fluorescence enhancement of semiconductor nanoparticles induced by surfactant adsorption

When semiconductor colloidal CdS nanoparticles and nonylphenol are mixed together in dimethyl sulfoxide at room temperature, a self-assembling process is induced. In the course, the size tunable properties of CdS nanoparticles are amplified. A blue shift in the emission spectrum and a strong photoluminescence enhancement are observed without significant change in the absorption features of the colloidal nanoparticles. These results are attributed to the adsorption of nonylphenol onto the nanoparticles surface and to the association process of the surfactant molecules. The surfactant adsorption process provides a nanoparticle surface passivation and induces an associative phase that enlarges the photoluminescence stability. This strategy opens the possibility to improve simultaneously physicochemical and photoluminescence properties of nanocrystals in solution as well as to control their deposition on two-dimensional surfaces.     

Optical second harmonic generation and ordering effects in the system of ferroelectric barium titanate nanocrystals

The temperature dependence of the optical second harmonic generation in nanocrystalline BaTiO₃:Eu³⁺ revealed a strong hysteresis in the C_4v-O_h ferroelectric phase transition region. The explanation of the effect by the ordering processes in the system of ferroelectric nanocrystals is confirmed by the experiments in an external electric field.     

Effects of citric acid additive on photoluminescence properties of YAG:Ce nanoparticles synthesized by glycothermal reaction

We synthesize Y₃Al₅O₁₂:Ce³⁺ (YAG:Ce³⁺) nanoparticles in the presence of citric acid by glycothermal method. Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy measurement indicates that the intensity of the peak corresponding to carboxyl groups coordinating to the nanoparticles increases with increasing amount of citric acid. At the same time, the primary particle diameter decreases from 10.2 to 4.0 nm. In addition, the internal quantum efficiency of the photoluminescence (PL) due to the 4f-5d transition of Ce³⁺ increases from 22.0% to 40.1% with increasing amount of citric acid. Two kinds of PL decay lifetimes, 16-26 and 72-112 ns, are detected for YAG:Ce³⁺ nanoparticles, whereas the micron sized YAG:Ce³⁺ bulk shows the lifetime of 57 ns. We discuss these phenomena from the aspects of the coordination of citric acid and the incorporation of Ce³⁺ ions into the nanoparticles.     

The second hyperpolarizability of CdTe nanocrystals using polarization-resolved degenerate four-wave mixing

Polarization-resolved forward degenerate four-wave mixing (DFWM) in a nonresonant region revealed the effective third-order nonlinear susceptibility of colloidal CdTe nanocrystals (NCs) with the size near the Bohr radius and various concentrations. The second hyperpolarizabilities, and , of the CdTe NCs were ∼1.15 × 10⁻⁴¹ m⁵/V² and ∼3.01 × 10⁻⁴² m⁵/V² from the measurement of the concentration-dependent third-order nonlinear susceptibility of CdTe NCs, respectively. The ratio (/) of the hyperpolarizabilities was ∼0.26, which indicated a large contribution of an electronic polarization process to the third-order nonlinearity of CdTe NCs.     

Femtosecond Third-Order Optical Nonlinearity of Au：Bi203 Nanocomposite Films

Ultrafast third-order optical nonlinearities of the as-deposited and annealed Au：Bi2O3 nanocomposite films deposited by magnetron cosputtering are investigated by using femtosecond time-resolved optical Kerr effect （OKE） and pump probe techniques. The third-order optical nonlinear susceptibility is estimated to be 2.6Ф×10^- 10 esu and 1.8 × 10.9 esu at wavelength of 800nm, for the as-deposited and the annealed film, respectively. The OKE signal of the as-deposited film is nearly temporally symmetrical with a peak centred at zero delay time, which indicates the dominant contribution from intraband transition of conduction electrons. For the annealed film, the existence of a decay process in OKE signal implies the important contribution of hot electrons. These characteristics are in agreement with the hot electron dynamics observed in pump probe measurement.     

Ultra‐subwavelength focusing of light by a monolayer of metallic nanoshells with an adsorbed defect

We study theoretically the focusing properties of a two‐dimensional periodic array of silver‐coated silica nanospheres. The array contains an adsorbed nanosphere of the same type which serves as point source when the array is illuminated by a plane wave. By using a rigorous multiple‐scattering theory we show that under plane wave illumination, the array focuses the incident light in a tight area with size of about 1/70 of the wavelength. At the same time, the near‐field is amplified by three orders of magnitude. The frequency corresponding to the focusing and amplification effects depends on the thickness of the silver nanoshell offering a tunable response of the structure. The latter can find application in optical trapping, lithography and imaging below the diffraction limit. (© 2008 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Low dimensional silicon structures for photonic and sensor applications

We review here our work on the photonic and sensor applications of nanostructured silicon. As we change the dimensionality of silicon very fascinating and new optical properties of the material appear. Light sources, modulators, waveguides, logical gates are a few examples of the various photonic devices which have been developed based on silicon nanocrystals. Needless to say, all these devices rely on quantum confinement and on the interplay between bulk and surface properties. Size effects and surface reconstructions are two critical issues which one has to master to employ silicon nanocrystals. Finally the use of silicon nanocrystals to develop innovative sensing mechanisms to reveal biomolecules or poisoning gasses will be discussed.     

Silicon nanocrystals in silica—Novel active waveguides for nanophotonics

Nanophotonic structures combining electronic confinement in nanocrystals with photon confinement in photonic structures are potential building blocks of future Si-based photonic devices. Here, we present a detailed optical investigation of active planar waveguides fabricated by Si⁺-ion implantation (400 keV, fluences from 3 to 6×10¹⁷ cm⁻²) of fused silica and thermally oxidized Si wafers. Si nanocrystals formed after annealing emit red-IR photoluminescence (PL) (under UV-blue excitation) and define a layer of high refractive index that guides part of the PL emission. Light from external sources can also be coupled into the waveguides (directly to the polished edge facet or from the surface by applying a quartz prism coupler). In both cases the optical emission from the sample facet exhibits narrow polarization-resolved transverse electric and transverse magnetic modes instead of the usual broad spectra characteristic of Si nanocrystals. This effect is explained by a theoretical model which identifies the microcavity-like peaks as leaking modes propagating below the waveguide/substrate boundary. We present also permanent changes induced by intense femtosecond laser exposure, which can be applied to write structures like gratings into the Si-nanocrystalline waveguides. Finally, we discuss the potential for application of these unconventional and relatively simple all-silicon nanostructures in future photonic devices.     

Cobalt nanoparticles synthesis from Co(CH3COO)2 by thermal decomposition

Nontoxic cobalt acetate tetrahydrate was used as a precursor to prepare cobalt nanoparticles of 8–200 nm in average diameter by thermal decomposition. The different combinations of trioctylphosphine, oleylamine and oleic acid were added as surfactants to control the particle size. These combinations resulted in the particles with saturation magnetization and coercive force ranging from 55.0 to 100.1 emu/g and from 0 to 459.3 Oe, respectively.     

Synthesis and characterization of zinc oxide nanoparticles by laser ablation of zinc in liquid

We report formation of colloidal suspension of zinc oxide nanoparticles by pulsed laser ablation of a zinc metal target at room temperature in different liquid environment. We have used photoluminescence, atomic force microscopy and X-ray diffraction to characterize the nanoparticles. The sample ablated in deionized water showed the photoluminescence peak at 384 nm (3.23 eV), whereas peaks at 370 nm (3.35 eV) were observed for sample prepared in isopropanol. The use of water and isopropanol as a solvent yielded spherical nanoparticles of 14-20 nm while in acetone we found two types of particles, one spherical nanoparticles with sizes around 100 nm and another platelet-like structure of 1 μm in diameter and 40 nm in width. The absorption peak of samples prepared in deionized water and isopropanol are seen to be substantially blue shifted relative to that of the bulk zinc oxide due to the strong confinement effect. The technique offers an alternative for preparing the nanoparticles of active metal.     

Enhanced photoluminescence from three-dimensional ZnO photonic crystals

We have fabricated optically active ZnO inverse opals by infiltrating polystyrene (PS) opal templates using an electrodeposition process. Compared with bare ZnO films also prepared by electrodeposition, the three-dimensional (3D) ordered ZnO structure exhibits markedly enhanced photoluminescence. The effect of photonic band gap on PL spectra is also clearly observed from the ZnO inverse opal structure.     

Blue shift in the luminescence spectra of MEH-PPV films containing ZnO nanoparticles

Luminescence properties of nanocomposites consisting of ZnO nanoparticles in a conjugated polymer, poly [2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethyl hexyloxy)-phenylene vinylene] (MEH-PPV), were investigated. Photoluminescence measurements reveal a blue shift in the emission spectrum of MEH-PPV upon incorporation of ZnO nanoparticles into the polymer film while the emission is increasingly quenched with increasing ZnO concentration. In contrast, the structure of the polymer and its conjugation length are not affected by the presence of ZnO nanoparticles (up to 16 wt% ZnO) as revealed by Raman spectroscopy. The blue shift and photoluminescence quenching are explained by the separation of photogenerated electron-hole pairs at the MEH-PPV/ZnO interface and the charging of the nanoparticles.     

Damped low-frequency surface-plasmon resonance in metal-dielectric periodic structures of planar semi-infinite extent

In the low-frequency limit with respect to the bulk plasma frequency of metal, damped surface-plasmon resonance is examined for a periodic semi-infinite structure with metal-dielectric unit cells in slab geometry. In comparison to the author’s earlier results in [1], the additional material damping is found to alter the resonance characteristics in many nontrivial ways. In particular, the damped Bloch waves propagating in the direction normal to the slab planes are induced, thereby altering wave stability with respect to the ratio of dielectric constants.     

Negative refractive index in the near‐UV from Au‐coated CuCl nanoparticle superlattices

Nanoparticle superlattices consisting of CuCl spheres coated with a gold (Au) nanoshell are shown to exhibit negative index of refraction in the near‐UV regime. These predictions are based on calculations of the effective refractive index by use of the extended Maxwell–Garnett theory. The results for the refractive index are supplemented by multiple‐scattering calculations of light‐transmittance curves from finite slabs of nanoparticle superlattices. (© 2007 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Rapid tarnishing of silver nanoparticles in ambient laboratory air

Silver has useful surface-plasmon-resonance properties for many potential applications. However, chemical activity in silver nanoparticles exposed to laboratory air can make interpretation of optical scattering and extinction spectra problematic. We have measured the shift of the plasmon polariton wavelength of arrays of silver nanoparticles with increasing exposure to ambient laboratory air. The resonance peak wavelength shifts 65 nm in 36 h (1.8 nm/h). We show by scanning Auger spectroscopy that the shift is due to contamination from sulfur, most likely chemisorbed on the surface. The rate of corrosion product growth on the nanoparticles is estimated to be 3 nm per day, 7.5 times higher than that of bulk Ag under the same conditions.     

Luminescence enhancement of ZnO nanoparticles on metal surface

We have studied luminescence enhancement of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanoparticles with the average size of 30 nm on several metal surfaces at low temperatures. Bandedge luminescence originated from bound exciton (BE) annihilation is observed at 3.360 eV, and strongly depends on the kind and surface roughness of metal. The luminescence intensity is about 10 times larger for Ag surface than that for quartz surface. Furthermore, the luminescence increases remarkably when the roughness of Ag surface is almost the same as the particle size. The intensity ratio of the fast decay component to the slow one decreases for Ag surface compared with quartz. These results suggest that the luminescence enhancement is partially attributed to suppressing of the nonradiative recombination process in ZnO nanoparticles on metal surface.     

Structural, optical, and electronic properties of colloidal CuO nanoparticles formed by using a colloid-thermal synthesis process

Colloidal cupric oxide (CuO) nanoparticles were formed by using a colloid-thermal synthesis process. X-ray diffraction patterns, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images, high-resolution TEM images, and X-ray energy dispersive spectrometry profiles showed that the colloidal CuO nanoparticles were formed. The optical band-gap energy of CuO nanoparticles at 300 K, as determined from the absorbance spectrum, was 3.63 eV. A photoluminescence spectrum at 300 K showed that a dominant emission peak appeared at the blue region. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy profiles showed that the O 1s and the Cu 2p peaks corresponding to the CuO nanoparticles were observed.