Optical characterization of oxynitride films in the visible-ultraviolet range

Oxynitride optical properties in the visible-ultraviolet spectral range are very interesting, due to their use in electronic device manufacturing. This paper presents spectra of refractive index and extinction coefficient of oxynitride films deposited on silicon with different composition, as derived from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements on the basis of an effective medium approach. These data evidence the presence of a Si-rich layer on the oxynitride/silicon interface. Electronic polarizability and energy gap of all compounds were evaluated. Moreover, absolute reflectance of the samples was derived from optical functions and compared with the measured value.     

Anisotropic local-field effects of nanoparticles in plasmonic optics and magneto-optics

A theory of anisotropic optical local-field effects caused by resonantly polarizable small particles in multilayer polarizable media is developed. Considered is the model of a rectangular lattice of ellipsoidal nanoparticles with taking account of “image forces” at an interface in a layered medium. The lattice sums for anisotropic dipolar interactions are found using the Green’s function method in the quasi-point dipole approximation, and the effective polarizabilities of particles in a layer located near an interface are calculated self-consistently. The manifestation of an anisotropic local field of nanoparticles in optical radiation and propagation of evanescent waves responsible for optical near-field effects is investigated. Applications of the obtained results in the polar magneto-optical Kerr effect and reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy in propagating the polarized light along the normal to layers are considered. The resonant features in the spectra due to enhancement of the optical effects under excitation of surface (local) plasmons in nanoparticles of a noble metal are studied.     

Reflection and transmission of strongly focused vector beams at a dielectric interface

The reflection and transmission of tightly focused azimuthally and linearly polarized electromagnetic wave beams with subwavelength spot size at a dielectric interface are investigated. A substantial increase of the reflectance of a light beam that is normally incident from a higher-index medium to a lower-index medium and a decrease of the reflectance of a beam that is incident from a lower-index medium to a higher-index dielectric medium in comparison with the Fresnel reflectance are predicted.     

Phase retrieval of reflectance for nanoparticle optical identification

We present a method for optical identification of dielectric and metal nanoparticles in a liquid matrix using phase retrieval of reflectance with TE- and TM-polarized light. A formula is derived for extracting the effective complex dielectric function of a nanoparticle colloid based on different complex reflectance components. The phase retrieval is performed using the maximum entropy method. We observe excellent accuracy both for dielectric and metallic nanoparticles with volume fractions up to 10%.     

Local-field effects in reflectance anisotropy spectra of the (001) surface of gallium arsenide

Characteristic reflectance anisotropy spectra of the naturally oxidized (001) surfaces of GaAs undoped crystals and Ga_0.7Al_0.3As epitaxial films are measured in the energy range 1.5–5.7 eV. The spectra are interpreted in the framework of the microscopic model proposed for a GaAs(001)/oxide interface and the reflectance anisotropy (difference) theory developed for a multilayer medium with a monolayer of atomic dipoles located near one of the interfaces. The anisotropy of dipole polarizability and the anisotropy of the plane lattice formed by dipoles are taken into account within the unified Green function approach of classical electrodynamics. A good agreement between the measured and calculated reflectance anisotropy spectra of the oxidized GaAs(001) surfaces shows that the local field effects at the semiconductor-oxide interface make the main contribution to these spectra.     

A spectrophotometric method for determining linear and predicting nonlinear optical properties of glass substrates

In this work, an expression for the interface reflectance in terms of both the total transmittance and the total reflectance of the glass substrate is derived. Using this expression a nondestructive procedure for deducing the complex refractive index of glass bulk material is suggested. Complex refractive indices of four glassy substrates with different thicknesses and compositions are experimentally measured across a spectral range 200–2000 nm. The errors of measurements for the suggested procedure depend on the reflectance and transmittance errors. They are calculated to be of about ±2.751 × 10^?8 for imaginary and ±0.008 for real refractive indices. Dispersive parameters of the real refractive indices and optical energy gaps for direct and indirect allowed optical transitions are deduced. Predicted nonlinear refractive indices and susceptibilities are evaluated.     

Diffuse reflection of light from a dense random medium using fibres dipped into the medium

Diffuse reflection of a narrow collimated light beam from a slab of a dense random medium is considered theoretically and experimentally for the case of the source and the detector fibres dipped into the random medium, as is the case for an endoscopic catheter. By use of the diffusion approximation, a simple and physically clear analytical expression is derived for the distribution of the diffuse reflectance of the light beam along the surface of the random medium slab. We include the effects of reflections from the top and bottom surfaces of the slab. The analytical expression derived predicts that, in the case of small absorption, the relative reflectance is a universal function defined by the geometrical parameters and is independent of specific properties of the random medium. The theoretical prediction is found to show good agreement with the results of measurements.     

Simulation of interaction of radiation with nanoparticles

Enhancement of microwave radiation at wavelength λ ∼ 10 cm in a cavity is simulated using the system of constituent equations derived earlier. It is shown that a radiation energy density of W ∼ 1000 J/m³ can be attained. Pumping of the medium containing conducting nanoparticles is carried out with a stationary electric field. The required mass concentration of nanoparticles and pumping field are estimated. A method of obtaining active medium using a statitionary electric field for enhancement of microwave radiation in a wavelength range of λ ∼ 10 cm is proposed. In this method, extended conducting nanoparticles should be sputtered.     

Diffuse reflection of light from a dense random medium using fibres dipped into the medium

Abstract

Diffuse reflection of a narrow collimated light beam from a slab of a dense random medium is considered theoretically and experimentally for the case of the source and the detector fibres dipped into the random medium, as is the case for an endoscopic catheter. By use of the diffusion approximation, a simple and physically clear analytical expression is derived for the distribution of the diffuse reflectance of the light beam along the surface of the random medium slab. We include the effects of reflections from the top and bottom surfaces of the slab. The analytical expression derived predicts that, in the case of small absorption, the relative reflectance is a universal function defined by the geometrical parameters and is independent of specific properties of the random medium. The theoretical prediction is found to show good agreement with the results of measurements.     

Probe into the reflection from GaP nanoparticles via different solutions of radiative transfer equation

The reflection and absorption spectra of gallium phosphide (GaP) nanoparticles were measured. The radiative transfer equation (RTE) for the medium with scattering and absorption is solved by three different solutions. The ratio of the absorption and scattering coefficients (E _a/E _s) of the GaP nanoparticles layer is calculated from the reflection spectrum via the three solutions, respectively, and the result derived with the three-flux model is closest to the exact solution given by Giovanelli. The E _a/E _s curves all exhibit the energy band gaps of GaP nanoparticles, which are consistent with the absorption spectrum measurement. The shape of the reflection spectrum is mainly determined by the absorption, and the scattering only influences its intensity. The energy band structure of the powder sample plays an important role in the reflection phenomenon, and the reflectance data can be used for quantitative analyses.     

Influence of the Concentration of Aqueous Solutions of Sulfuric Acid on the Reflection Spectra of Pine Needles

The effect of solutions of sulfuric acid of different concentrations on the optical characteristics of pine needles was investigated. It is found that an increase in the acid concentration results in a decrease in the content of pigments in pine needles and in their reflectance in the visible region. An analysis of experimental data by using the LIBERTY model has shown that the decrease in the pine needle reflectance with decrease in the pigment content depends on the change in the refractive index at the cell wall–binding medium interface.     

Particle Size Influence on the Effective Permeability of Composite Materials

The energy method, which estimates the effective permeability of composite material is proposed. We approximate the effective static magnetic permeability by energy method and Maxwell-Garnett method for spherical particles dispersing system. Considering the effect of the interface layer between the medium and the particle, we study the nanoparticles embedded in a medium exactly. The interface layer property plays a significant factor for the effective permeability of the composite material in which nano-sized particles embedded.     

Electronic state of gold in supported clusters

The electronic states of gold in gold supported nanoparticles modified by Ce, Zr, La and Cs oxides have been studied by the methods of IR spectroscopy of adsorbed CO, UV-visible spectroscopy of diffuse reflectance, XRD and electron microscopy. The additives of Ce and Zr oxides stabilize the ionic states of supported gold and increase the effective charge of the ions. In contrast, La and Cs oxides lower the ion effective charge and favour their fast reduction under redox treatments and reaction medium. It is explained by electron donor-acceptor interaction of the supported metal nanoparticles with the modifiers.     

Proton and electron irradiation induced changes in the optical properties of ZnO pigments modified with ZrO2 and Al2O3 nanopowders

The effect of the modification of ZnO powders by ZrO₂ and Al₂O₃ nanoparticles with a concentration of 1–30 wt % is investigated by diffuse reflectance spectra within the wavelength range 0.2 to 2.5 μm before and after 100 keV proton and electron irradiation. It has been established that the introduction of nanoparticles enhances the optical stability of the pigments under proton irradiation, but reduces it under electron irradiation. Samples modified by 5 wt % of ZrO₂ nanoparticles have the highest stability of optical properties after proton exposure. The degradation of optical properties under electron irradiation is not high for this concentration of nanoparticles. A decrease in the absorption of pigments modified with nanoparticles after proton exposure is determined by a decrease in the intensity of bands located in the UV and visible regions. After electron exposure the absorption bands have a high intensity in the whole spectrum range.     

Functional activity of TiO2 nanocolloids generated from diverging high power laser beams

ABSTRACT

When a pulsed laser gets tightly focused onto a target-liquid interface, plasma formation occurs which leads to nucleation of nanoparticles based on the choice of target and its affinity to the surrounding liquid. Here, we report the generation of Titanium Oxide nanoparticles at titanium–water interface from defocused diverging laser beam rather than from converging tightly focused beam. This is done to tackle the laser-induced fragmentation of ejected nanoparticles in the beam path which widens the nanoparticulate statistics as laser energy gets consumed by the nanoparticles thereby causing a reduction in the ablation efficiency of the target material. The use of diverging laser beam effectively takes most of the ablated species away from the beam path and improvises on the ablation phenomena with yield up to 4?mg/h. The utility of the derived nanoparticulates under such conditions is then checked from its photocatalytic activity which shows 70% photodegradation of environmental pollutants.     

Phase behavior of organic-inorganic crystal

We have investigated the structure and phase behavior of nonmolecularly layered silver stearate by means of temperature-dependent diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform (DRIFT) spectroscopy. Upon heating the sample, remarkable spectral changes took place. The first phase transition took place that might be associated with a premelting event characterized by the formation of gauche conformers at 390-420 K. A second phase transition took place in which silver nanoparticles with a size of ∼4 nm were formed by thermal decomposition of silver stearate at 520-550 K. These silver nanoparticles, derivatized by stearate, were readily spread as a monolayer at air/water interface, and could be packed in 3-D assemblies by the Langmuir-Blodgett method. Received 29 November 2000     

Dependence of the metastability of the magnetic states of two-phase nanoparticles on mechanical stress

The influence of mechanical stress on the magnetic states of multiaxial heterophase magnetic materials is investigated using a model of two-phase nanoparticles. The range of critical fields for the reversal of the magnetic moments of phases is calculated and phase diagrams are built to assess the effect of interface exchange interaction and mechanical stress on the metastability of the magnetic states of two-phase nanoparticles.     

空间分辨漫反射的一阶散射参量灵敏度

以输运理论的P3近似为基础,推导了空间分辨漫反射的一阶散射参量灵敏度的解析表示,并进行了数值分析,比较了散射参量对P3近似和漫射近似漫反射的影响.结果表明:在距光源两个输运平均自由程以内,该灵敏度与相应于漫射近似的灵敏度差别较为明显;距离光源约四个输运平均自由程附近,该灵敏度等于零,并且与光源之距与相应于漫射近似情况也...     

纳米GaP粉体反射光谱的测量及其分析

通过测量纳米磷化镓(GaP)粉体在紫外可见光波段(200-800nm)的反射光谱,运用三流理论由反射光谱计算出纳米GaP粉体的吸收系数(Ea)和散射系数(Es)的比值(Ea/Es)。纳米GaP粉体的反射光谱的形状主要受吸收的影响,即GaP禁带结构的影响。     

Reciprocity principle for radiative transfer models that use periodic boundary conditions

Many numerical models use periodic boundary conditions in solving the radiative transfer through heterogeneous media specified over a fixed domain. A reciprocity principle applicable to solutions from these models is derived for the common situation of a scattering and absorbing heterogeneous medium that is illuminated over the entire domain from a single direction. The derived reciprocity principle states that the domain-averaged bidirectional reflectance distribution function remains invariant when incoming and outgoing directions are interchanged, regardless of the heterogeneity of the medium and the size of the domain. This reciprocity principle provides a simple and useful benchmark test for radiative transfer models that use periodic boundary conditions.