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An ellipsometric investigation of Ag/SiO\(\mathsf{_2}\) nanocomposite thin films

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Abstract.

Dielectric properties of silver/SiO2 nanocomposite thin films grown by high-pressure d.c. sputtering technique were studied by spectroscopic ellipsometry (300-800 nm). The dielectric behavior of the nanocomposite thin films largely depended on the particle size, its number density and the surrounding environments. The films showed semiconductor-like behavior up to a critical particle size and concentration, beyond which the films exhibited the typical surface plasmon resonance characteristics in their optical properties. The refractive index was also found to have a strong dependence on the particle size and its dispersion in the matrix. The results were found to be consistent with those obtained from UV-VIS optical absorbance data. Bruggeman effective medium theory was used to explain the experimental results.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science, Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science, 700 032, Calcutta, India

    R. K. Roy & A. K. Pal

  2. Department of Materials Science, Inter University Consortium for DAE Facilities, Sector III, Block LB/8, Bidhan Nagar, 00 098, Calcutta 7, India

    S. K. Mandal

  3. Spectroscopy Division, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, 400 085, Mumbai, India

    D. Bhattacharyya

Authors
  1. R. K. Roy
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  2. S. K. Mandal
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  3. D. Bhattacharyya
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  4. A. K. Pal
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Correspondence to A. K. Pal.

Additional information

Received: 3 April 2002, Published online: 23 July 2003

PACS:

78.67.-n Optical properties of nanoscale materials and structures - 78.67.Bf Nanocrystals and nanoparticles

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Roy, R.K., Mandal, S.K., Bhattacharyya, D. et al. An ellipsometric investigation of Ag/SiO\(\mathsf{_2}\) nanocomposite thin films. Eur. Phys. J. B 34, 25–31 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2003-00192-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1140/epjb/e2003-00192-5

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