Atomically Thin Metal–Dielectric Heterostructures by Atomic Layer Deposition

• Published in: ACS applied materials & interfaces Vol. 15; no. 18; pp. 22626 - 22636
• Main Authors: Paul, Pallabi, Schmitt, Paul, Sigurjónsdóttir, Vilborg Vala, Hanemann, Kevin, Felde, Nadja, Schröder, Sven, Otto, Felix, Gruenewald, Marco, Fritz, Torsten, Roddatis, Vladimir, Tünnermann, Andreas, Szeghalmi, Adriana
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States American Chemical Society 10.05.2023
• Subjects: Surfaces, Interfaces, and Applications; iridium/aluminum oxide; interfaces; structural and optical properties; atomic layer deposition; metal−dielectric heterostructures; ultrathin metallic layers
• ISSN: 1944-8244; 1944-8252
• DOI: 10.1021/acsami.2c22590

Heterostructures increasingly attracted attention over the past several years to enable various optoelectronic and photonic applications. In this work, atomically thin interfaces of Ir/Al2O3 heterostructures compatible with micro-optoelectronic technologies are reported. Their structural and optical properties were determined by spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (XRR, XPS, HRTEM, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and UV/vis/NIR spectrophotometry). The XRR and HRTEM analyses reveal a layer-by-layer growth mechanism of Ir in atomic scale heterostructures, which is different from the typical island-type growth of metals on dielectrics. Alongside, XPS investigations imply the formation of Ir–O–Al bonding at the interfaces for lower Ir concentrations, in contrast to the nanoparticle core–shell structure formation. Precisely tuning the ratio of the constituents ensures the control of the dispersion profile along with a transition from effective dielectric to metallic heterostructures. The Ir coating thickness was varied ranging from a few angstroms to films of about 7 nm in the heterostructures. The transition has been observed in the structures containing individual Ir coating thicknesses of about 2–4 nm. Following this, we show epsilon-near-zero metamaterials with tunable dielectric constants by precisely varying the composition of such heterostructures. Overall, a comprehensive study on structural and optical properties of the metal–dielectric interfaces of Ir/Al2O3 heterostructures was addressed, indicating an extension of the material portfolio available for novel optical functionalities.