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Characterization of self-organized crystalline Au nanoparticles embedded in epitaxially grown SrTiO3

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Abstract

Crystalline Au nanoparticles embedded in epitaxially grown SrTiO3 layers were prepared by an annealing and coating procedure of Au seed layers on SrTiO3 (STO) substrates. X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy measurements were performed to investigate the size, shape, and deformation of the particles and their crystal orientation. The shape and size of the crystalline Au nanoparticles can be tuned by controlling the Au seed layer thickness and single crystalline elliptically shaped Au nanoparticles have been generated. Furthermore, the orientation of the surrounding SrTiO3 matrix changes significantly from homoepitaxially grown (001) to secondary (111) and (011) orientations for Au seed layers that are thicker than 4 nm. This is of great interest for modifying the electrical properties of SrTiO3 layers, whereas the anisotropically shaped crystalline particles are relevant for optical applications, due to localized surface plasmon resonances.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors would like to thank H. Marschner for characterizing the SrTiO3 substrates by x-ray topography. CK gratefully acknowledges financial support by the Landesgraduiertenförderung Thüringen.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Optics and Quantum Electronics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, D-07743, Jena, Germany

    Hendrik Bernhardt & Ingo Uschmann

  2. Helmholtz Institute, Jena, D-07743, Jena, Germany

    Hendrik Bernhardt & Ingo Uschmann

  3. Institute of Solid State Physics, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, D-07743, Jena, Germany

    Christian Katzer & Frank Schmidl

  4. Otto Schott Institute of Materials Research, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, D-07743, Jena, Germany

    Andreas Undisz, Martin Drüe & Markus Rettenmayr

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  1. Hendrik Bernhardt
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  2. Christian Katzer
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  3. Andreas Undisz
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  4. Martin Drüe
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  6. Ingo Uschmann
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  7. Frank Schmidl
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Correspondence to Hendrik Bernhardt.

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Bernhardt, H., Katzer, C., Undisz, A. et al. Characterization of self-organized crystalline Au nanoparticles embedded in epitaxially grown SrTiO3. Journal of Materials Research 30, 973–980 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2015.66

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2015.66

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