In:
Scientific Reports, Springer Science and Business Media LLC, Vol. 9, No. 1 ( 2019-12-27)
Abstract:
Metal-dielectric multilayers are versatile optical devices that can be designed to combine the visible transmittance of dielectrics with the electronic properties of metals for plasmonic and meta-material applications. However, their performances are limited by an interfacial optical absorption often attributed entirely to the metal surface roughness. Here, we show that during deposition of AlN/Ag/AlN and SiN x /Ag/SiN x multilayers, significant diffusion of Ag into the top dielectric layer form Ag nanoparticles which excite localized surface plasmon resonances that are primarily responsible for the interfacial optical absorption. Based on experimental depth profiles, we model the multilayer’s silver concentration profile as two complementary error functions: one for the diffused Ag nanoparticles and one for the interface roughness. We apply the Maxwell-Garnett and Bruggeman effective medium theories to determine that diffusion characteristics dominate the experimental absorption spectra. The newfound metal nanoparticle diffusion phenomenon effectively creates a hybrid structure characteristic of both metal-dielectric multilayer and metal-dielectric composite.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
2045-2322
DOI:
10.1038/s41598-019-56719-x
Language:
English
Publisher:
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Publication Date:
2019
detail.hit.zdb_id:
2615211-3
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