Optical and optoacoustic measurements of the absorption properties of spherical gold nanoparticles within a highly scattering medium

In the present paper the requirements for optical parameter characterization of absorbing materials located within a highly scattering medium has been addressed. The measurement scheme incorporates the optoacoustic technique where a single acoustic transducer is used to detect ultrasonic transients generated from laser irradiation. The absorbing medium is based on different concentrations of spherical gold nanoparticles (SGNP’s), these are currently being considered as non-toxic targeted optical contrast agents for both medical imaging and cancer therapeutics. In this paper we present results which demonstrate the two main advantages the optoacoustic technique has over other measurement schemes. These are the possibility to obtain information on the position and dimensions of absorbing bodies using a time of flight analysis (TOF) and secondly, the higher sensitivity of the optoacoustics compared to optical transmission techniques. The former advantage is of particular interest for imaging applications and the latter for detection and characterization of absorbing materials surrounded by high levels of high scattering mediums. We present for the first time the characterization of SGNP within a highly scattering medium. To further demonstrate the feasibility of the optoacoustic technique, the scattering coefficient of the surrounding medium has also been characterized.     

Comparison of the optical properties of undoped and Ga-doped ZnO thin films deposited using RF magnetron sputtering at room temperature

The optical properties of undoped zinc oxide (ZnO) thin films of various thicknesses were compared with those of Ga-doped (GZO) thin films. Transparent, high-quality undoped ZnO and GZO films were deposited successfully using radio-frequency (RF) sputtering at room temperature. The films were polycrystalline with a hexagonal structure and a strongly preferred orientation along the c-axis. The films had an average optical transmission >85% in the visible part of the electromagnetic spectrum. The undoped ZnO thin films were more transparent than the GZO thin films. In the photoluminescence (PL) spectrum, ZnO film has higher quality than GZO as a result of decrease in the green emission intensity.     

Influence of Al doping on microstructure,morphology, optical and photoluminescence properties of pyrolytic ZnO thin films prepared in an ambient atmosphere

Zinc oxide (ZnO) and aluminium (Al) doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films have been fabricated by spray pyrolysis technique in normal atmospheric condition. Samples of different Al-concentrations (0–5% Al) were deposited at 350 °C onto glass substrate to study the structural, morphological, optical and photoluminescence properties. X-ray diffraction study confirms that the films are polycrystalline having hexagonal structure. SEM images show that the films have rope and tube like morphology. Optical properties, such as transmittance, optical band gap, extinction coefficient, refractive index, optical conductivity, dielectric constants and electron energy loss functions were analyzed and discussed. Results show that the optical parameters have been changed significantly with Al-doping concentration. The photoluminescence spectra indicate that the PL peaks originated from deep level emissions (DLE) with different intensities for ZnO and Al-doped ZnO films.     

The influence of using different substrates on the structural and optical characteristics of ZnO thin films

ZnO thin films with thikness d = 100 nm were deposited onto different substrates such as glass, kapton, and silicon by radio frequency magnetron sputtering. The structural analyses of the films indicate they are polycrystalline and have a wurtzite (hexagonal) structure.The ZnO layer deposited on kapton substrate shows a stronger orientation of the crystallites with (0 0 2) plane parallel to the substrate surface, as compared with the other two samples of ZnO deposited on glass and silicon, respectively.All three layers have nanometer-scale values for roughness, namely 1.7 nm for ZnO/glass, 2.4 nm for ZnO/silicon, and 6.8 nm for ZnO/kapton. The higher value for the ZnO layer deposited on kapton substrate makes this sample suitable for solar cells applications. Transmission spectra of these thin films are strongly influenced by deposition conditions. With our deposition conditions the transparent conducting ZnO layer has a good transmission (78-88%) in VIS and NIR domains. The values of the energy gap calculated from the absorption spectra are 3.23 eV for ZnO sample deposited onto glass substrate and 3.30 eV for the ZnO sample deposited onto kapton polymer foil substrate. The influence of deposition arrangement and oxidation conditions on the structural, morphological, and optical properties of the ZnO films is discussed in the present paper.     

Spectroscopic characterization of core and shell regions in monolayer protected gold nanoparticles

We report studies on the structure of the metallic core and the alkyl cap layer in monolayer protected gold nanoparticles having sizes down to 1.6 nm. These particles are obtained by laser ablating gold targets in alkane-thiol solutions at different concentrations. The electronic structure of gold core and the vibrational properties of the capping hydrocarbon chains reveal effects connected with the nanosized nature of the particles.     

Influence of the ZnO nanoparticle sizes and morphology on the photoinduced light reflectivity

We have established a principal possibility of changes of the light reflectivity at the wavelength of 633 nm (He–Ne laser) under influence of the external laser light. The changes are very sensitive to the wavelength of the photoinduced laser. We have chosen two types of the photoinduced lasers: UV nitrogen 7 ns laser at wavelength 371 nm heating near the absorption edge and the 10 ns 1064 nm Nd:YAG laser with wavelength 1064 nm. The power dependences of the reflectivity were studied. Possible explanation of the observed effects is presented following the conception of the nano-trapping levels. These results have been obtained from two ZnO thin films prepared from principally different deposition parameters leading to different particle features and morphologies.     

Synthesis and characterization of TiOx nanoparticles prepared by pulsed-laser ablation of Ti target in water

Nanoparticles (NPs) creation by pulsed-laser ablation of targets in a liquid environment has recently become a promising technique, which has several relative advantages, such as simplicity and low cost. This technique was employed in the present work for preparation of TiO_x NPs suspension by ablation of metal Ti targets into twice-distilled water. A second harmonic generation (SHG) pulsed Nd:YAG laser was used in the experiments. Preferential formation of spherical NPs and their TiO_x nature was established. Aggregation of the created particles during aging was found. Transition of the NPs’ structure from amorphous to crystalline with increasing the laser energy was revealed. A difference was observed in the transmittance of the suspensions obtained depending on the laser intensity.     

Optical and photoelectron spectroscopic studies of alkyl-passivated silicon nanoparticles

We have performed the optical and photoelectron spectroscopic studies of alkyl-passivated Si nanoparticles synthesized by a solution route. The alkyl-passivated Si nanoparticle with mean diameter less than about 2 nm exhibits a strong ultraviolet-blue photoluminescence. Furthermore, we have directly investigated their electronic structures in the vicinity of Fermi level by means of valence-band photoemission measurements using synchrotron radiation. From these results, the detailed optical properties and electronic structures of alkyl-passivated Si nanoparticles are discussed.     

Study on the electrical and optical properties of Ag/Al-doped ZnO coatings deposited by electron beam evaporation

A layer of silver was deposited onto the surface of glass substrates, coated with AZO (Al-doped ZnO), to form Ag/AZO film structures, using e-beam evaporation techniques. The electrical and optical properties of AZO, Ag and Ag/AZO film structures were studied. The deposition of Ag layer on the surface of AZO films resulted in lowering the effective electrical resistivity with a slight reduction of their optical transmittance. Ag (11 nm)/AZO (25 nm) film structure, with an accuracy of ±0.5 nm for the thickness shows a sheet resistance as low as 5.6 ± 0.5 Ω/sq and a transmittance of about 66 ± 2%. A coating consisting of AZO (25 nm)/Ag (11 nm)/AZO (25 nm) trilayer structure, exhibits a resistance of 7.7 ± 0.5 Ω/sq and a high transmittance of 85 ± 2%. The coatings have satisfactory properties of low resistance, high transmittance and highest figure of merit for application in optoelectronics devices including flat displays, thin films transistors and solar cells as transparent conductive electrodes.     

Trapping and release of citrate-capped gold nanoparticles

An electrical method to trap and release charged gold nanoparticles onto and from the surface of gold electrodes modified by an alkanethiol self-assembled monolayer (SAM) is presented. To form electrodes coated with gold nanoparticles (GNPs), amine-terminated SAMs on gold electrodes were immersed in a solution of negatively charged citrate-capped GNPs. Accumulation of GNPs on the electrode surface was monitored by a decrease in the impedance of the SAM-modified electrode and by an increase in the electrochemical activity at the electrode as shown through cyclic voltammetry (CV). Electrostatic interactions between the GNPs and the amine-terminated SAM trap the GNPs on the electrode surface. Application of a subsequent negative bias to the electrode initiated a partial release of the GNPs from the electrode surface. Impedance spectroscopy, cyclic voltammetry, ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to monitor and confirm the attraction of GNPs to and release from the aminealkanethiolated gold electrodes. This work describes a method of trapping and release for citrate-capped GNPs that could be used for on-demand nanoparticle delivery applications such as in assessing and modeling nanoparticle toxicology, as well as for monitoring the functionalization of gold nanoparticles.     

Circles of DNA-linked gold nanoparticle strands

DNA-connected strings of gold nanoparticles are arranged to form very uniformly annular arrays having various diameters of a few micrometers by adjusting evaporation conditions as well as the concentrations of gold nanoparticles and phosphorothioate-modified oligonucleotides. The circles are formed by the dry hole-opening mechanism rather than by the Marangoni effect. However, their sizes are very diverse and their circumferences are approaching to show single-particle thinness instead of close-packed particle cluster thickness owing to DNA-linked gold nanoparticle strands.     

Excitonic photoluminescence characteristics of amorphous silicon nanoparticles embedded in silicon nitride film

We have investigated the photoluminescence (PL) properties of amorphous silicon nanoparticles (a-Si NPs) embedded in silicon nitride film (Si-in-SiN_x) grown by helicon wave plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (HWP-CVD) technique. The PL spectrum of the film exhibits a broad band constituted of two Gaussian components. From photoluminescence excitation (PLE) measurements, it is elucidated that the two PL bands are associated with the a-Si NPs and the silicon nitride matrix surrounding a-Si NPs, respectively. The existence of Stokes shift between PL and absorption edge indicates that radiative recombination of carriers occurs in the states at the surface of the Si NPs, whereas their generation takes place in the a-Si NPs cores and the silicon nitride matrix, respectively. The visible PL of the film originates from the radiative recombination of excitons trapped in the surface states. At decreasing excitation energy (E_ex), the PL peak energy was found to be redshifted, accompanied by a narrowing of the bandwidth. These results are explained by surface exciton recombination model taking into account there existing a size distribution of a-Si NPs in the silicon nitride matrix.     

Symmetry based properties of the transition metal dichalcogenide nanotubes

The full geometrical symmetry groups (the line groups) of the monolayered, 2Hb and 3R polytypes of the inorganic MoS₂ and WS₂ micro- and nanotubes of arbitrary chirality are found. This is used to find the coordinates of the representative atoms sufficient to determine completely the geometrical structure of the tubes. Then some physical properties which can be deduced from the symmetry are discussed: electron band degeneracies, selection rules, general forms of the second rank tensors and potentials, phonon spectra. Received 13 April 2000     

Influence of third-order nonlinear and phase variations on third harmonic generation

A theoretical analysis is presented for third-harmonic generation in KDP for type I/type II angle-detuning scheme of high-intensity laser to produce third harmonic radiation near 0.35 μm. The effects of the third-order nonlinearity and the phase variations on the frequency conversion have been discussed. The results shown that the third-order nonlinear interactions decreases the tripling efficiency, and increases of the modulate strength of the output intensity of 3ω radiation. However, adjusting the angular detuning can compensate effectively the effects of third-order nonlinearity. Furthermore, 3ω conversion efficiency will drop with the increase of the degree of phase variations, and the increase 3ω conversion efficiency can decrease the influence of third-order nonlinearity on the conversion of third harmonics.     

Investigation of the luminescence properties of ZnO tetrapods and clusters grown on Si substrates

ZnO nanostructures are formed on Si substrates using Zn powder without catalyst. The substrate temperature was controlled from 450 to 600 °C, and the variation of structural and optical properties was investigated. From all samples both ZnO tetrapods and clusters were observed. Among them, no significant dispersion was observed from the ZnO tetrapods. However, ZnO clusters show considerable change in density and size. From the energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) results, atomic composition difference was observed. The clusters have considerable O-deficiencies, while tetrapods have almost stoichiometric composition. From all samples, strong luminescence, UV emission at 3.21 eV and green emission at 2.5 eV, were observed at room temperature. Cathodoluminescence measurements showed that the UV emission is closely related with tetrapods and the green emission is dominated from the clusters.     

Spatial and angular distributions of third harmonic generation from metal surfaces

Third harmonic generation from planar and spherical metal surfaces is studied theoretically through the standard Green function method, so that the results are not affected by the uncertainty associated with previous simplified models. In general the pattern of the non-linear scattering loosely resembles the pattern of Mie scattering. The strong backward scattering is uniquely related to the non-linear process. These results differ significantly from the predictions of the surface charge model. Received: 20 May 1998 / Received in final form: 25 August 1998 / Accepted: 1st September 1998     

Influence of gold nanoparticles on optically stimulated effects in TeO2-ZnO and GeO2-PbO amorphous thin films

We have found photoinduced second harmonic generation at wavelength 1064 nm during bicolor Nd:YAG laser coherent treatment of TeO₂-ZnO and GeO₂-PbO amorphous films. The maximally achieved second order susceptibility was equal to about 1.02 pm/V. Correlation of the induced second order susceptibility with local sample heating and induced birefringence may indicate an occurrence of local phase transitions from amorphous glass-like phase to non-centrosymmetry metastable phases.     

Optical extinction spectroscopy of single silver nanoparticles

The extinction spectrum of single silver nanoparticles with size ranging from 20 to 80 nm is investigated with the spatial modulation spectroscopy technique using either a tunable laser or a white lamp as the broadband source. Results are in good agreement with the prediction of the Mie theory, permitting to extract the nanoparticle size from the measured absolute value of the optical extinction cross-section. In contrast, the deduced refractive index of the nanoparticle environment and the reduction of the electron mean free path show a large dependence on the precise value of the bulk silver dielectric function.     

The influence of annealing temperature on the structure,morphologies and optical properties of ZnO nanoparticles

ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) have been successfully synthesized by the simple solution method at low temperature. The effects of annealing temperature on the structure and optical properties of ZnO NPs were investigated in detail by X-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet–visible (UV–vis) spectroscopy and photoluminescence (PL) measurements. As the annealing temperature was increased above 180 ^°C the particles morphology evolved from spherical to hexagonal shape, indicating that the average particle size increased from 11 nm to 87 nm. The UV-vis and PL spectra showed a red-shift from 3.62 to 3.33 eV when the annealing temperature was increased.     

Influence of phase transitions on the second harmonic generation in metal nanoparticles

In this work we use nonlinear optical properties of Ga nanoparticles monolayers of different average sizes embedded in dielectric matrices to investigate the liquid-solid phase transitions in these materials. Ga nanoparticles, formed by exploiting the partial wetting of liquid Ga over a SiO_x surface are irradiated with fs laser pulses from a Ti:sapphire source. The resulting Second Harmonic (SH) generated in the reflection and transmission directions is measured along the phase transitions by cooling the sample from 320 K down to liquid nitrogen temperature. Hysteresis cycles are observed in the nonlinear transmission, which exhibit a strong amplification from the solid to liquid values as compared to the linear optical results. A simple model for SH generation, based on Mie scattering calculations which includes the effect of surface plasmon resonance provides a fair key for the interpretation of the observed effects.