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Wide Band Gap Al and In Co-doped ZnO Films for Near-Infrared Plasmonic Application

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Abstract

In transparent conducting oxide films, tuning of plasmonic resonance is directly controlled by free electron concentration and thus by activated dopants. In this study, large area AlxInyZn1-x-yO thin films at various concentrations were prepared by spray coating using water as a solvent. The effect of Al/In dopant ratio on the structural, electrical, optical, and plasmonic properties was investigated. Tuning of optical response to a well-defined plasmon resonance is correlated to the above properties of AlxInyZn1-x-yO films. Theoretical fitting based on the Drude-Lorentz (D-L) theory was utilized for extracting the dielectric spectra and cross-over wavelength (ωc). The studies revealed plasmonic properties in NIR for the films with Al/In ratios of A5I5, A2.5I7.5, and A0I10, indicating In as the most activated dopant. Surface plasmon mode simulated using the extracted permittivity values showed the influence of mobility of these films on the broadening of the dip. The minimum plasmonic loss suggests the suitability as an alternative plasmonic material in the near infrared.

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Acknowledgements

One of the authors (SK) is thankful to Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, for providing Senior Research Fellowship. The authors are thankful to the Director, C-MET Thrissur, for extending the facilities to carry out this work and Reshma P. R., S. Parida of HBNI, SND, IGCAR for the Raman measurements and useful discussion, respectively.

Funding

One of the authors (Soumya K) received grant from Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India, in the form of Senior Research Fellowship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre for Materials for Electronics Technology (C-MET), Scientific Society, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, Shoranur Road, Athani P.O, Thrissur, 680 581, India

    Soumya Kannoth, Packia Selvam Irulappan & Sankara Narayanan Potty

  2. Surface and Nanoscience Division, Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Homi Bhabha National Institute, Kalpakkam, 603102, India

    Sandip Dhara

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  1. Soumya Kannoth
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Contributions

Soumya K: Investigation, Writing—Original draft preparation, Formal Analysis; I. Packia Selvam: Resources, Data curation; Sandip Dhara: Raman Spectroscopy, Writing- Reviewing and Editing; S N Potty: Conceptualization, Supervision, Writing- Reviewing and Editing. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sankara Narayanan Potty.

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Kannoth, S., Irulappan, P.S., Dhara, S. et al. Wide Band Gap Al and In Co-doped ZnO Films for Near-Infrared Plasmonic Application. Plasmonics 16, 1693–1704 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-021-01434-5

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