Surface resonance properties of thin silver films with nanoparticles induced by pulsed-laser interference dewetting process

• Published in: International journal of advanced manufacturing technology Vol. 120; no. 1-2; pp. 377 - 384
• Main Authors: Lin, Hsuan-Kai, Chen, Ying-Chi, Lee, Jia-Ren, Lu, Wei-Hua, Chang, Yuan-Jen
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Springer London 01.05.2022; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Absorption spectra; CAE) and Design; Computer-Aided Engineering (CAD; Drying; Engineering; Evaporators; Exposure; Glass substrates; Industrial and Production Engineering; Interference; Lasers; Mechanical Engineering; Media Management; Michelson interferometers; Nanoparticles; Optical properties; Original Article; Particle size; Particle size distribution; Pulsed lasers; Rotation; Silver; Thickness; Thin films; Michelson interferometer; Absorption spectra; Silver particle; Laser
• ISSN: 0268-3768; 1433-3015
• DOI: 10.1007/s00170-022-08827-8

Pure Ag thin films with a thickness of 10 nm were deposited on glass substrates using a thermal evaporator system. Nanoparticles were then induced in the films by a Michelson interferometer dewetting process. The particle size was found to decrease with an increasing laser power and exposure time. The minimum particle size was 150 nm for a laser power of 4 W and exposure time of 60 s. However, a smaller particle size of 110 nm was obtained by adopting a two-step exposure process with a rotation angle of 30° and an exposure time of 55 s. The absorption peak wavelength of the dewetted films increased with an increasing rotation angle. By contrast, a blue shift in the absorption spectrum occurred as the laser power increased. The half-height widths of the absorption peaks of the films dewetted using different rotation angles were wider than those of the films dewetted without rotation, indicating that the two-step rotation process resulted in a wider particle size distribution. Overall, the results show that the optical properties of the laser-dewetted Ag films are highly dependent on the interference parameters.