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Studies of Electronic Excitations of Rectangular ZnO Nanorods by Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy

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Abstract

Electronic excitations of single ZnO rectangular nanorod have been investigated by electron energy-loss spectroscopy in conjunction with scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM-EELS). We focus primarily on the surface excitations greatly enhanced at the grazing incidence parallel to the surfaces of ZnO nanorods. An uncommon kind of surface excitation known as surface exciton polaritons occurring near interband transitions is found to dominate in the spectral range between the band gap at 3.4 eV and the surface plasmon peak at 15.8 eV. In addition, the dielectric function of ZnO up to 25 eV has also been derived from the bulk excitation spectra using the Kramers–Kronig analysis on a single nanorod. Theoretical EELS simulations are also compared with the experimental results and good agreements are obtained.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the National Science Council under the project of NSC 96-2121-M-002-012.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Condensed Matter Sciences, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Chien-Ting Wu, Ming-Wen Chu, Li-Chyong Chen & Cheng-Hsuan Chen

  2. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan

    Chuan-Pu Liu

  3. Institute of Atomic and Molecular Sciences, Academia Sinica, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Kuei-Hsien Chen & Cheng-Hsuan Chen

  4. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Chun-Wei Chen

  5. Department of Physics, National Taiwan University, Taipei, 106, Taiwan

    Cheng-Hsuan Chen

  6. Center for Micro/Nano Science and Technology, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan

    Chuan-Pu Liu

  7. Advanced Optoelectronic Technology Center, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, 701, Taiwan

    Chuan-Pu Liu

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  1. Chien-Ting Wu
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  2. Ming-Wen Chu
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  5. Li-Chyong Chen
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Correspondence to Cheng-Hsuan Chen.

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Wu, CT., Chu, MW., Liu, CP. et al. Studies of Electronic Excitations of Rectangular ZnO Nanorods by Electron Energy-Loss Spectroscopy. Plasmonics 7, 123–130 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-011-9284-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11468-011-9284-6

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