Optical properties and applications to production of plasmonic thin film nanostructures of self-ordered columnar alumina arrays on glass

Angus Gentle; Abbas Maaroof; Geoff Smith; Michael Cortie

doi:10.1117/12.638126

18 January 2006 Optical properties and applications to production of plasmonic thin film nanostructures of self-ordered columnar alumina arrays on glass

Angus Gentle, Abbas Maaroof, Geoff Smith, Michael Cortie

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 6038, Photonics: Design, Technology, and Packaging II; 603816 (2006) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.638126
Event: Microelectronics, MEMS, and Nanotechnology, 2005, Brisbane, Australia

Abstract

In this paper we report on new techniques for making self-ordered porous layers of alumina of varying aspect ratios on glass, without the use of lithographic or masking techniques. Use of RF etching in one of the hole forming steps and also when filling the holes with sputtered metal is shown to be advantageous over additional anodisation. These hole arrays have intrinsically interesting optical responses which will be reported, but their main use is for nano-patterning of subsequent deposited layers either as templates or as masks. High resolution images demonstrate the uniformity in nanohole diameter and in the spacing between holes, which can be achieved when care is used in production. While many nanostructured materials can be deposited using these Porous Anodic Alumina (PAA) templates we focus here on filling the vertical cylindrical holes with silver. Etching during hole filling leads to better-controlled structures and more efficient processes. Novel optical data on the resultant conducting columnar rings will be presented. Spectrally much sharper plasmon resonant features are found than those reported for classical and more random silver column and island arrays. The optical properties are analysed from an effective medium perspective using data from spectrophotometry and ellipsometry. Fitting this data gives modelled layer thickness and the vertical profile in close agreement with direct SEM imaging. The effective refractive indices of the silver columnar layer have interesting and potentially useful dispersion characteristics.

Citation Download Citation

Angus Gentle, Abbas Maaroof, Geoff Smith, and Michael Cortie "Optical properties and applications to production of plasmonic thin film nanostructures of self-ordered columnar alumina arrays on glass", Proc. SPIE 6038, Photonics: Design, Technology, and Packaging II, 603816 (18 January 2006); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.638126

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available