Plasmonic enhancement of the vanadium dioxide phase transition induced by low-power laser irradiation

• Published in: Applied physics. A, Materials science & processing Vol. 108; no. 2; pp. 255 - 261
• Main Authors: Ferrara, Davon W., MacQuarrie, Evan R., Diez-Blanco, Victor, Nag, Joyeeta, Kaye, Anthony B., Haglund, Richard F.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer-Verlag 01.08.2012; Springer
• Subjects: Characterization and Evaluation of Materials; Collective excitations (including excitons, polarons, plasmons and other charge-density excitations); Condensed Matter Physics; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Exact sciences and technology; Machines; Manufacturing; Materials science; Nanopowders; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Nanotechnology; Optical and Electronic Materials; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optical properties of low-dimensional, mesoscopic, and nanoscale materials and structures; Physical radiation effects, radiation damage; Physics; Physics and Astronomy; Processes; Structure of solids and liquids; crystallography; Surface and interface electron states; Surfaces and Interfaces; Thin Films; Ultraviolet, visible, and infrared radiation effects (including laser radiation); Plasmonic Absorption; Localize Surface Plasmon Resonance; Vanadium Dioxide; Thermal Diffusion Length; Extinction Spectrum; Radiation effects; Gold; Semiconductor materials; Phase transformations; Thick films; Theoretical study; Pulsed laser deposition; Laser irradiation; Absorption coefficients; Transients; Thin films; Finite element method; Nanoparticles; Thermal properties; Time dependence; Nanocomposites; Temperature effects; Optical properties; Vanadium oxide; Surface plasmon resonance; Plasmonics; Arrays
• ISSN: 0947-8396; 1432-0630
• DOI: 10.1007/s00339-012-7018-z

Nanocomposites consisting of gold nanoparticle (NP) arrays and vanadium dioxide (VO 2 ) thin films are noteworthy for the tunability of both their thermal and optical properties. The localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) of the Au can be tuned when its dielectric environment is modulated by the semiconducting-to-metal phase transition (SMT) of the VO 2 ; the LSPR itself can be altered by changing the shape of the NPs and the pitch of the NP array. In principle, then it should be possible to choose a combination of VO 2 film and Au LSPR properties that maximizes the overall optical response of the nanocomposite. To demonstrate this effect, transient transmission measurements were conducted on lithographically fabricated arrays of Au NPs of diameter 140 nm, array spacing 350 nm, and covered with a 60 nm thick films of VO 2 via pulsed laser deposition. Both Au::VO 2 nanocomposites and bare VO 2 film were irradiated with a shuttered 785 nm pump laser, and their optical response was probed at 1550 nm by a fixed-frequency diode laser. The Au::VO 2 nanocomposite exhibited an increased effective absorption coefficient 1.5 times that of the plain film and required 37 % less laser power to induce the SMT. The time-dependent temperature rise in the film as a function of laser intensity was calculated from these measurements and compared with both analytic and finite-element models. Our results suggest that Au::VO 2 nanocomposites may be useful in applications such as thermal-management coatings for energy efficient “smart” windows.