Morphology, structural and optical characterization of electron beam evaporated bromoaluminium phthalocyanine (BrAlPc) thin films

Bromoaluminium phthalocyanine (BrAlPc) thin films have been deposited onto pre-cleaned glass substrates by electron beam evaporation technique. Thin films have been characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) and optical absorption (UV–Vis) spectra. XRD studies of BrAlPc thin film deposited at room temperature shows the indication of the α-phase. FESEM images have shown that the most of particles are spherical in shape with an average size about 26–34 nm. Using UV–Visible spectra over the wavelength range 300–800 nm, the optical band gap, absorption coefficient and extinction coefficient of BrAlPc thin films are evaluated. The optical absorption measurements of thin films show that the absorption mechanism is due to direct transition.     

Effect of chain conformation on micro-mechanical behaviour of MEH–PPV thin film

The morphology, photoluminescent properties and micro-mechanical character of poly[2-methoxy-5-(2′-ethylhexyloxy)-p-phenylene vinylene] (MEH–PPV) thin films prepared from toluene (T film) and chloroform (C film) were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), absorption, photoluminescence spectrophotometry and nanoindentation test. The morphological feature of worm-like entities which appeared in T film was ~10–20 nm in length and 3–5 nm in width. The C film displayed the continuous cotton fibre-shaped morphology. In contrast with C film, the band-edge absorption and maximum emission for T film shifted to the longer wavelength. An analysis from TEM photograph, absorption and photoluminescence spectra indicated that different chain conformation presented in these two kinds of films. The nanoindentation test showed that the elastic modulus and indentation hardness of T film under the same experimental parameter (load: 50–200 μN, loading rate: 20 μN/s and holding time: 20 s) decreased by 33·3 ± 0·3 and 8·9 ± 0·5%, respectively comparing with C film. In addition, critical bending radius of these two films based on the flexible base was also evaluated from the obtained experimental results.     

Surface enhanced absorption and transmission from dye coated gold nanoparticles in thin films

Absorption spectra of gold nanoisland thin film and the composite film of gold having thin coating of Methylene Blue and Rh6G dyes have been studied. Thin gold nanoisland film shows surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak in the visible wavelength range, which shifts to near infrared with an increase in the thickness of the film. It was found that thin film of gold consists of nanoparticles of different size and shape, particularly nanorods of noncylindrical shapes. A linear relation was found between SPR peak wavelength and the aspect ratio of the nanoparticles in gold thin film. Effective medium refractive index of the gold film is estimated to be ~2.5, which decreases with an increase in film thickness. The coating of dyes on gold films splits the SPR peak with an enhanced absorption. Enhancement in absorption of composite film is maximal when the dye absorption peak coincides with the SPR peak; otherwise enhancement in transmission is observed for all the wavelength range. Absorption amplitude of composite film peaks increase with an increase in the gold film thickness, which tend toward saturation for film thickness of ≥6 nm. A correlation shows that absorption spectra can be described by the Maxwell Garnett theory, when the gold nanoparticles have a nearly spherical shape for very thin film (≤6 nm).     

Ultrafast pump-probe spectroscopy studies of CeO2 thin film deposited on Ni-W substrate by RF magnetron sputtering

This study presents the first investigation of rapid dynamical processes that occur in pure CeO₂ thin film, using ultra fast pump-probe spectroscopy at room temperature. For this purpose we have used a single (200) oriented CeO₂ film deposited on biaxially textured Ni-W substrate by RF magnetron sputtering technique. The ultrafast transient spectra show initial sharp rise transition followed by an exponential photon decay. This rise time is about 10 ps irrespective of the probe wavelengths range 500–800 nm. The initial decay constant (τ) at 500 nm probe wavelength is found to be 171 ps, while at 800 nm probe wavelength it is 107.5 ps. The ultrafast absorption spectra show two absorption peaks at 745 and 800 nm, and are attributed to the electronic transitions from ²F_7/2–²F_5/2 and ¹S₀–¹F₃ respectively. The relatively high intensity absorption peak at 745 nm indicates dominant f–f electronic transition. Further, the absorption peak at 745 nm splits into two distinct peaks with respect to delay time, and is attributed to the charge transfer in between Ce⁴⁺ and Ce³⁺ ions. These results indicate that CeO₂ itself is a potential candidate and can be used for optical applications.     

A strong controllable absorber using graphene-metal nanostructure

In this paper, a strong absorption is obtained by a graphene-metal nanostructure at near-infrared wavelengths. The proposed absorber consists of a single graphene layer on a metal film array with semicircle and L-shaped grooves. There are two absorption peaks of 0.48 and 0.86 at 1488?nm and 1538?nm wavelengths, respectively, in the absorption spectrum of the structure without the graphene layer. The absorption is enhanced to 0.89 at 1498?nm wavelength and the full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) is increased as the graphene layer is used. Also, the absorption value of 0.99 can be attained as three graphene layers are utilized and the FWHM can be enhanced to 173?nm when four graphene layers are on the structure. Moreover, the effects of geometrical parameters of the structure and graphene chemical potential on the absorption spectrum are studied to tune the absorption value and wavelength. By tuning the geometrical parameters, a three-band absorber is proposed.     

Enhanced light absorption of Ag films deposited onto femtosecond laser microstructured silicon

Absorptive properties of silver (Ag) films with the thickness varied from 160 nm to 340 nm deposited onto the surface of femtosecond laser microstructured silicon by vacuum thermal evaporation were measured in a wavelength range of 0.3-16.7 μm. Greatly enhanced light absorption of Ag films has been observed in the whole measured wavelength range. For the same Ag film thickness (268 nm), the light absorption was strongly depended on the height and spacing of the spikes, especially in the region of 1-16.7 μm. The relation between light absorption and thickness of Ag films has also been investigated, it was shown that the light absorption decreases with the increasing thickness of Ag films. The strongly enhanced light absorption in such a wide wavelength range is mainly ascribed to the multiple reflection of light between spikes and surface plasmon excitation of noble metal nano-particles on the spikes surface.     

Surface-plasmon resonance spectrometry and characterization of absorbing liquids

The effect of absorption of the sample medium on the surface-plasmon resonance (SPR) characteristics is analyzed by approximate analytical and exact numerical models. We show that absorption leads to specific changes in the value of reflectivity near the SPR angle and that these can be used for absorbance detection. The strongest absorption-induced change in reflectivity occurs at two values of metal film thickness (28 and 55 nm for a gold film and lambda = 632.8 nm). Using a sample solution of Rhodamine 700 in ethanol, we measured the characteristic changes in the SPR angle and in reflectivity over the wavelength interval encompassing the strong absorption band at 610-680 nm. The possibility of the simultaneous determination of the refractive index and absorption from SPR measurements is demonstrated and has the potential for substance-specific detection.     

Poly (vinyl alcohol) thin film filled with CdSe–ZnS quantum dots: Fabrication,characterization and optical properties

A transparent poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) nanocomposite thin film (30–50 nm) reinforced with core/shell cadmium selenide (CdSe)/zinc sulfide (ZnS) quantum dots (QDs) was fabricated by a drop-casting method. A narrow peak at ～556 nm observed in the UV–vis spectrum indicates the uniformly dispersed QDs in the PVA matrix. FT-IR analysis indicates the interaction between the QDs and the polymer matrix. Both PVA and PVA-QDs nanocomposite thin films show polarized light dependent absorption properties with several different absorption peaks. As compared to the only fluorescent emission peak at 574 nm of QDs, the pure PVA and PVA-DDs nanocomposites show an excitation wavelength dependent fluorescent emission property.     

An experimental study of millimeter wave absorption in thin metal films

Optical characteristics (R, T, A) of thin aluminum films with thicknesses from 1.7 to 15 nm were studied at a wavelength of 8 mm with allowance for a substrate material. The absorption exhibits a maximum for a film thickness of 2.5 nm. The experimental data are interpreted taking into account the dependence of electric conductivity on film thickness.     

Optical properties of Sb2Se3 thin films

The optical constants (the refractive index n and the absorption index k) of Sb₂Se₃ thin films deposited at room temperature on quartz have been calculated in the wavelength range (5000–2000 nm) using a transmission spectrum. Both n and k were found to be practically independent on either time, up to 6 months, or the film thickness in the range of 102–760 nm. Beyond the absorption edge, the absorption is due to allowed indirect and direct transitions with energy gaps of 1.225 and 1.91 eV, respectively. The value of the optical gap depends on the annealing temperature. X-ray analysis showed that the prepared films at room temperature had amorphous structure while the films annealed at 200°C for 1 h were verified to be crystalline.     

Ultrasonic-assisted organic–inorganic multilayer thin film synthesis and enhanced visible-light phototropy based on PVP /PMoA

Novel organic–inorganic layer-by-layer (LbL) multilayers for visible-light phototropy, comprised of polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) and phosphomolybdic acid (PMoA), were fabricated via layer-by-layer (LbL) assembly with ultrasonic pretreatment. The characterizations revealed that the Keggin spatial geometry of the PMoA was still maintained in the final ultrasonic-assisted LbL thin films, which promoted halogenesis between the PVP and PMoA. Intriguingly, instead of destroying the PVP thin film, the ultrasonic pretreatment process successfully dispersed the PMoA in the PVP thin film with a median size of approximately 3.6 nm. Thanks to the dispersion of the PMoA particles, the photochromic capabilities of the ultrasonic-assisted PVP/PMoA LbL thin films gained remarkable improvement. Moreover, decreasing the size of the PMoA particles to quantum dots (10–3.4 nm) induces an up-conversion and dielectric confinement effect, which increases the intensity of the absorption peak (0.235 increased to 0.45) while narrowing the emission energy (2.51 eV narrowed to 2.23 eV). At the same time, the size reduction also extended the range of the absorption wavelength, increases the characteristic absorption intensity, and accelerates the coloration rate over the same illumination period.

     

CuAl2O4掺杂改性TiO2薄膜的制备与可见光催化性能研究

采用溶胶-凝胶方法在玻璃基片上制备了CuAl2O4掺杂改性的复合薄膜．研究了CuAl2O4的掺杂量、光照时间、薄膜厚度对TiO2复合薄膜光催化性能的影响，利用可见-紫外分光光度计测定酸性红B降解前后516nm处的吸光度，依此计算出薄膜对染料的降解率．借助于紫外可见光谱、X射线衍射、接触角测定仪等研究了薄膜的结构与性能．结果表明：随着CuAl2O4掺杂量的增加，TiO2复合薄膜对酸性红B水溶液的可见光降解脱色率增大．采用吸收光谱确定了CuAl2O4掺杂量为0％、0．5％、1％、1．5％％（摩尔分数）的TiO2复合薄膜的激发极限波长，分别是350、370、380、430nm，吸收边向可见区红移了20-80nm，可见光吸收范围明显扩大．     

Study of Photosensitive Dry Films Absorption for Printed Circuit Boards by Photoacoustic Technique

In this work, the study of photosensitive dry-type films by photoacoustic technique is proposed. The dry film photoresist is resistant to chemical etching for printed circuit boards such as ferric chloride, sodium persulfate or ammonium, hydrochloric acid. It is capable of faithfully reproducing circuit pattern exposed to ultraviolet light (UV) through a negative. Once recorded, the uncured portion is removed with alkaline solution. It is possible to obtain good results in surface mount circuits with tracks of 5 mm. Furthermore, the solid resin films are formed by three layers, two protective layers and a UV-sensitive optical absorption layer in the range of 325 nm to 405 nm. By means of optical absorption of UV–visible rays emitted by a low-power Xe lamp, the films transform this energy into thermal waves generated by the absorption of optical radiation and subsequently no-radiative de-excitation occurs. The photoacoustic spectroscopy is a useful technique to measure the transmittance and absorption directly. In this study, the optical absorption spectra of the three layers of photosensitive dry-type films were obtained as a function of the wavelength, in order to have a knowledge of the absorber layer and the protective layers. These analyses will give us the physical properties of the photosensitive film, which are very important in curing the dry film for applications in printed circuit boards.     

Thickness dependence of amplified spontaneous emission in low-absorbing organic waveguides

The effect of varying film thickness (h) on the amplified spontaneous emission (ASE) properties of 0.5 wt.% perylenediimide-doped polystyrene waveguides is reported. The threshold dependence on h, not previously investigated in detail, is analyzed in terms of the film absorption and photoluminescence, the confinement of the fundamental waveguide mode (TE0), and the presence of high-order modes. For h<400 nm and down to 150 nm, the ASE wavelength blueshifts, while the linewidth and threshold increase. The detrimental ASE operation in very thin films is due to the low absorption as well as to the poor confinement of the TE0 mode.     

Opaline backreflector coating in dye-sensitized solar cell

Photonic crystals are ordered nanostructures that are designed to manipulate the propagation of light. The periodicity of a photonic crystal can be engineered to be highly reflective at selected wavelengths. In this work, a mono-layer and double-layer colloidal photonic crystal film were self-assembled on a glass substrate to be used as backreflectors in a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC). The colloidal photonic crystal film consists of different polystyrene monodispersed particles with sizes between 200 nm and 290 nm. Making use of flow controlled vertical deposition (FCVD) method, opaline films of Bragg's reflection wavelength between 450 nm to 750 nm were achieved. These wavelengths were designed to match the absorption spectrum of the Ruthenium-complex dye used in DSSC. An enhancement in incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency (IPCE) of the opaline backreflector DSSC of about 30% at Bragg's peak wavelength has been achieved.     

CdSe(ZnS) nanocomposite luminescent high temperature sensor

High temperature luminescence-based sensing is demonstrated by embedding colloidal CdSe(ZnS) quantum dots into a high temperature SiO(2) dielectric matrix. The nanocomposite was fabricated by a solution process method. As-prepared CdSe(ZnS) quantum dots in the nanocomposite sensor show an absorption band at a wavelength of 600 nm (2.06 eV). Photoluminescence (PL) measurements show a room temperature emission peak at 606 nm (2.04 eV). The temperature-dependent emission spectra study shows for the first time a CdSe(ZnS)-SiO(2) nanocomposite-based high temperature sensor. The temperature-dependent spectral and intensity modes of the nanocomposite thin film photoluminescence were investigated from 295-525 K. The sensor shows a variation of the emission wavelength as a function of temperature with a sensitivity of ～ 0.11 nm °C( - 1). The film morphology and roughness are characterized using AFM.     

Preparation, characterization, and photoelectric properties of an electrostatically self-assembled film based on tungstophosphoric acid and a binuclear Ru(II) complex

An electrostatically self-assembled film based on tungstophosphoric acid (PTA) and a binuclear Ru(II) complex RuL was prepared and characterized by UV-vis absorption spectroscopy and cyclic voltammetry. A linear increase in the UV-vis absorbance with the number of deposited layers indicated that the film deposition was uniform and reproducible. The cyclic voltammogram demonstrated that PTA and the binuclear Ru(II) complex assembled in the film were redox active with surface confined characteristics. The photoelectrochemical properties and mechanism of photocurrent generation have also been studied. A five-layer (PTA/RuL)5 film on the ITO was found to exhibit a large cathodic photocurrent density of 5.32 microA/cm2 while irradiated with polychromatic light (730 nm > lambda > 325 nm) at an applied potential of -0.3 V versus saturated calomel electrode. The photocurrent action spectrum was in agreement with metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) band of RuL in the absorption spectrum, which indicated that the photocurrent was generated based on MLCT excitation of the RuL in the film. It is noteworthy that the incident monochromatic photon-to-current conversion efficiency was calculated to be 1.1% at a wavelength of 450 nm.     

Ultraviolet-visible and surface-enhanced Raman scattering spectroscopy studies on self-assembled metalloporphyrin films on organic monolayer-modified ultra-thin silver substrates

A self-assembled monolayer (SAM) film of 5,10,15,20-tetra-(para-chlorophenyl)-porphyrin terbium (or lutetium) hydroxy compound (TbOH/LuOH) fabricated on a silver substrate premodified with a SAM of 4-mercaptopyridine (PySH) was studied by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy and surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) spectroscopy. PySH can modify the substrate and deliver its pyridyl group pointing out from the silver surface. Thus, we can investigate the effects of the central metals of the metalloporphyrins in the formation of the composite films. For the TbOH-PySH composite film, a new absorption band arising from TbOH appears at 425 nm, and a band at 512 nm due to the PySH-modified silver substrate shifts to a longer wavelength (538 nm). The results suggest that TbOH is successfully assembled on the top of PySH-modified silver film and that there is an interaction between TbOH and PySH in the film. The frequency shifts and relative intensity changes of bands due to PySH in the SERS spectra imply the coordination of the pyridyl group on Tb in the SAM. As for the LuOH-PySH composite film, its SERS spectrum shows bands arising from both the LuOH and PySH moieties, indicating that LuOH is assembled on the PySH-modified silver film. Furthermore, a band at 1221 cm(-1) due to the in-plane C-H bending mode of PySH disappears, implying that the pyridyl moiety of PySH becomes more parallel to the silver surface upon the formation of the LuOH-PySH composite film. Additionally, an absorption band at 515 nm shifts to a longer wavelength (541 nm) and becomes broad upon the formation of the composite film, suggesting an interaction between LuOH and PySH in the film. By comparing the spectral changes between the two self-assembled composite films, we find that the central metal is crucial in the formation of the composite films. The structure and orientation of the composite films depend on the central metal of the metalloporphyrin compounds.     

Optical dispersion and dielectric properties of rubrene organic semiconductor thin film

Rubrene thin film has been fabricated on a glass substrate by spin-coating at 300 K. The optical dispersion and dielectric properties of the film have been determined from the analysis of transmittance and reflectance measurements at normal incident of light between 200 and 700 nm. The optical transmittance of the film was estimated as of 80–85 % in the visible range. Optical absorption characteristics show that the absorption mechanism is due to the indirect transition. The transport and onset optical energy gaps were determined as 2.93 and 2.31 eV, respectively. Single term Sellmeier dispersion relation and Wemple–DiDomenico single oscillator model were used to determine the optical dispersion parameters. Several dispersion parameters such as lattice dielectric constant, optical dielectric constant at higher frequency, dispersion energy, oscillator energy, the ratio of carrier concentration to the effective mass, the average oscillator wavelength, and average oscillator strength were determined by analysis of refractive index dispersion. The loss factor, the electric modulus, the optical conductivity, the volume and surface energy loss functions, and the relaxation time were also evaluated from the optical dielectric constants analysis.     

Effect of the shapes of nanostructures on the light absorption in organic thin films

We theoretically investigate the enhancement of optical absorption in organic thin films by embedding the periodic metallic nanostructures (NSs) inside the thin films. For the case study, one of the organic solar cell materials copper phthalocyanine (CuPc) has been used. Finite Different Time Domain technique has been used to illustrate the role of the several different shapes of the metallic NSs. It has been found that the NSs can result in broadband optical absorption enhancement. A study on the position of the metallic particles in the organic thin film and the effect of particle dimension on absorption has also been performed. A significant enhancement in the absorption in the wavelength range 350–550?nm has been observed. Furthermore, the investigation has been performed on the effect of the light source incident angle and polarization direction on the absorption in the organic thin films. The best incident angle is found at 75°.