Abstract
Nanocomposite thin films consisting of Au nanoparticles embedded in yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) were synthesized at room temperature by radio frequency magnetron co-sputtering from YSZ and Au targets and subsequently annealed in an argon atmosphere. Au microstructure and particle size were characterized as a function of annealing temperature from 600 to 1000 °C by x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy. Spectroscopic ellipsometry was also used to determine the optical constants of the resulting films. In particular, the refractive index of the nanocomposites was found to undergo an anomalous dispersion in the spectral region where the extinction coefficient achieves its maximum. Additionally, the incorporation of Au in the YSZ matrix was found to increase the refractive index in comparison to that of YSZ. At annealing temperatures higher than 800 °C, a good agreement was found between experimental findings and theoretical models using bulk dielectric functions for Au, as modified to account for a reduced mean free path for scattering than that for free electrons. However, for annealing temperatures below 800 °C, an additional offset was required for the optical constants of Au to obtain good agreement between theory and experiment. This behavior was attributed to a relatively high atomic Au concentration in the YSZ matrix.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
I. Tanahashi Y. Manabe T. Tohda S. Sasaki and A. Nakamura: Optical nonlinearities of Au/SiO2 composite thin films prepared by a sputtering method. J. Appl. Phys. 79 1244 (1996).
H.B. Liao R.F. Xiao and G.K.L. Wong: Large third-order nonlinear optical susceptibility of Au-Al2O3 composite films near the resonant frequency. Appl. Phys. B. Lasers Opt. 65 673 (1997).
H. Liao R.F. Xiao H. Wong K.S. Wong and G.K.L. Wong: Large third-order optical nonlinearity in Au:TiO2 composite films measured on a femtosecond time scale. Appl. Phys. Lett. 72 1717 (1998).
A.D. MacFarland and Van R.P. Duyne: Single silver nanoparticles as real-time optical sensors with zeptomole sensitivity. Nano Lett. 3 1057 (2003).
M. Ando T. Kobayashi S. Iijima and M. Haruta: Optical CO sensitivity of Au–CuO composite film by use of the plasmon absorption change. Sens. Actuators B 96 589 (2003).
U. Kreibig and M. Vollmer: Optical Properties of Metal Clusters; Springer: New York 1995; p. 23.
T. Girardeau S. Camelio D. Babonneau J. Toudert and A. Barranco: Correlations between the microstructure of Ag-Si3 N4 multilayers and their optical properties. Thin Solid Films 455 313 (2004).
P. Zhou H. You J. Jia J. Li T. Han S. Wang R. Zhang Y. Zheng and L. Chen: Concentration and size dependence of optical properties of Ag:Bi2O3 composite films by using the co-sputtering method. Thin Solid Films 455 605 (2004).
R. Roy S. Mandal D. Bhattacharyya and A.K. Pal: An ellipsometric investigation of Ag/SiO2 nanocomposite thin films. Eur. Phys. J. B 34 25 (2003).
J.C.G. de San R. Serna J. Gonzalo C.N. Alfonso D.E. Hole and A. Naudon: Refractive index of Ag nanocrystals composite films in the neighborhood of the surface plasmon resonance. J. App. Phys. 91 1536 (2002).
S. Cho H. Lim K.S. Lee T.S. Lee B. Sheong W.M. Kim and S. Lee: Spectro-ellipsometric studies of Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films. Thin Solid Films 475 133 (2005).
G. Sirinakis R. Siddique C. Monokroussos M.A. Carpenter and A.E. Kaloyeros: Microstructure and optical properties of Y2O3-stabilized ZrO2-Au nanocomposite films. J. Mater. Res. 20 2516 (2005).
B.D. Cullity and S.R. Stock: Elements of X-ray Diffraction 3rd ed. (Prentice-Hall Upper Saddle River NJ 2001).
A.R.L. Thermo: A Lorentzian peak is more appropriate than a Gaussian profile when the broadening of the XRD peak is due to nanograins instead of stress or strain. (private communication).
J.C. Garnett Maxwell: Colours in metal glasses and in metallic films. Philos. Trans. R. Soc. A203 385 (1904).
P.e.r. Boher: SOPRA WinElli version 4.07 (1994).
H. Hövel S. Fritz A. Hilger U. Kreibig and M. Vollmer: Width of cluster plasmon resonances: Bulk dielectric functions and chemical interface damping. Phys. Rev. B 48 18178 (1993).
N.W. Ashcroft and N.D. Mermin: Solid State Physics (Saunders College Publishing Philadelphia PA 1976).
B.N.J. Persson: Polarizability of small spherical metal particles: Influence of the matrix environment. Surf. Sci. 281 153 (1993).
De G. Marchi G. Mattei P. Mazzoldi C. Sada and A. Miotello: Two stages in the kinetics of gold cluster growth in ion-implanted silica during isothermal annealing in oxidizing atmosphere. J. Appl. Phys. 92 4249 (2002).
C.F. Bohren and D.R. Huffman: Absorption and Scattering of Light by Small Particles (Wiley New York 1983).
P.B. Johnson and R.W. Christy: Optical constants of the noble metals. Phys. Rev. B 6 4370 (1972).
M. Quinten: Optical constants of gold and silver clusters in the spectral range between 1.5 eV and 4.5 eV. Z. Phys. B 100 211 (1996).
U. Kriebig: In Growth and Properties of Metal Clusters edited by J. Bourdon (Elsevier Scientific Amsterdam The Netherlands 1980) p. 371.
D. Dalacu and L. Martinu: Spectroellipsometric characterization of plasma-deposited Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films. J. Appl. Phys. 87 228 (2000).
M.M. Alvarez J.T. Khoury T.G. Schaaff M.N. Shafigullin I. Vezmar and R.L. Whetten: Optical absorption spectra of nanocrystal gold molecules. J. Phys. Chem. B 101 3706 (1997).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sirinakis, G., Siddique, R., Dunn, K.A. et al. Spectroellipsometric characterization of Au-Y2O3–stabilized ZrO2 nanocomposite films. Journal of Materials Research 20, 3320–3328 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2005.0411
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2005.0411