Surface Plasmon Resonance of Noble Metal Nanoparticles in Thin Film Dielectric Matrices
Date of Award
2006
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Natural Sciences
First Advisor
Sendova, Mariana
Keywords
Surface Plasmon Resonance, Nanoparticles, Thin Films
Area of Concentration
Physics
Abstract
The photo-modification of gold and silver nanoparticles in silica thin film matrices was studied. The films were deposited by RF magnetron cosputtering and annealed between 650oC and 950oC to promote particle growth. The films were modified with the second and fourth harmonics of a Nd:YAG laser at 532 and 266 nm with typical fluences of 50 and 75 mJ/cm2. Mie theory in the quasi-static approximation was used to estimate average particle sizes from the width of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) in the optical absorption spectra. Average particle size and particle size distribution were determined directly from transmission electron micrographs (TEM). The particle size distribution was found to follow a bimodal lognormal distribution before irradiation and a single narrower lognormal distribution after laser treatment. The average size determined by TEM was found to be much larger than that estimated from the SPR. This may reflect the difficulty in counting very small particles in TEM images and/or the need to modify the existing Mie model to include additional damping terms due to particle/matrix interactions. Laser treatment of silver particles significantly reduced the average size and narrowed the overall size distribution. Laser treatment of gold particles only significantly reduced the average size at higher fluences which damaged the film.
Recommended Citation
Ruther, Rose, "Surface Plasmon Resonance of Noble Metal Nanoparticles in Thin Film Dielectric Matrices" (2006). Theses & ETDs. 3704.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3704
Rights
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