Optical properties of nanostructured thin films and applications

纳米结构薄膜的光学特性及应用

• 批准号: RGPIN-2014-06207
• 负责人: VoVan, Truong
• 金额: $ 1.6万
• 依托单位: Concordia University
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2016
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2016-01-01 至 2017-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=612089
• 关键词: Optical; properties; nanostructured; thin; films

The optical properties of nanostructured thin films constitute an important and strategic area of research, evolving rapidly thanks to the development of new tools for investigating single nanoparticles as well as assemblies of nanoparticles. This area has seen remarkable progress made in nanofabrication and nanoparticle synthesis that can allow the fine control of parameters such as size, shape and geometric arrangement for specific properties and applications. The proposed research will work on the optical properties of nanostructured thin films or nanoparticle systems, with an emphasis on the exceptional optical properties of plasmonic films, to further advance the current understanding of the behavior of such films or systems in relation with their nanostructures and the intended applications. In order to achieve our goals, the following is proposed. Advanced theoretical modeling will be performed to explore the different characteristics of various nanoparticles, from the simple spherical shape to complex and challenging configurations. Our work will explore in particular different types of asymmetrical nanoparticle ensembles not studied previously that, according to our recent exploratory work, can present exceptional qualities for sensing environmental changes. Electron lithography will be used for preparing optimized coupled-particle devices that can be characterized by high precision scanning near-field optical spectroscopy. The nonlinear susceptibility of metallic nanorod composites will also be studied in detail as a function of the particle orientation and filling factor, and a theoretical model developed will be used for analysis of the results. Such a type of materials would have great potential for ultrafast, low power all-optical information processing in subwavelength-scale devices. Other applications of nanostructured films will be realized, particularly in the design of innovative and efficient photovoltaics and smart switchable coatings. Plasmonic nanostructures will allow us to manage light at the nanoscale in solar cells in order to increase the device absorption that would lead to enhanced performance. An optoelectronic model with the optical properties of the plasmonic active layers described by an effective medium theory and an organic semiconductor model will be used to study the short-circuit photocurrent influenced by the plasmonic particles. High quality plasmonic organic solar cells will be fabricated and tested accordingly. For their part, nanostructured electrochromic films will likely increase the response times of smart coatings making them readily applicable to smart windows, switchable eyewears or displays. To this aim, we propose to explore fully the potential of the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method for fabricating thin films to create the desired porosity and a network of nanochannels which would favor ion transport in the electrochromic material. Pertinent measurements will be made for establishing the relationship between nanostructures and sample porosity with the material performance and in particular the response speeds. In summary, the research program proposed is a comprehensive, original and challenging one covering aspects of fundamentals, theory, modeling of linear and nonlinear optical properties as well as device fabrication and characterization, with a potential transfer of technology to industry.

纳米结构薄膜的光学性质构成了一个重要的战略研究领域，由于研究单个纳米粒子以及纳米粒子组装体的新工具的发展，该领域发展迅速。该领域在纳米纤维和纳米颗粒合成方面取得了显着进展，可以对特定性能和应用的尺寸，形状和几何排列等参数进行精细控制。拟议的研究将致力于纳米结构薄膜或纳米颗粒系统的光学特性，重点是等离子体薄膜的特殊光学特性，以进一步推进目前对此类薄膜或系统与其纳米结构和预期应用相关的行为的理解。 为了实现我们的目标，提出以下建议。先进的理论建模将进行探索各种纳米粒子的不同特性，从简单的球形到复杂和具有挑战性的配置。我们的工作将特别探索以前没有研究过的不同类型的不对称纳米粒子集合，根据我们最近的探索性工作，这些集合可以呈现出感知环境变化的特殊品质。电子光刻将用于制备优化的耦合粒子器件，其特征在于高精度扫描近场光学光谱。金属纳米棒复合材料的非线性极化率也将被详细研究作为粒子取向和填充因子的函数，并且开发的理论模型将用于分析结果。这类材料在亚波长尺度器件的超快、低功耗全光信息处理方面具有巨大的潜力。纳米结构薄膜的其他应用也将实现，特别是在创新和高效的光致变色和智能可切换涂层的设计中。等离子体纳米结构将使我们能够在太阳能电池中管理纳米级的光，以增加器件的吸收，从而提高性能。利用有效介质理论描述的等离子体活性层的光学性质和有机半导体模型的光电模型将被用来研究等离子体粒子影响的短路光电流。高质量的等离子体有机太阳能电池将相应地制造和测试。就其本身而言，纳米结构的电致变色膜可能会增加智能涂层的响应时间，使其易于应用于智能窗户，可切换眼镜或显示器。为了这个目的，我们建议充分探索潜在的掠射角沉积（GLAD）方法制造薄膜，以创建所需的孔隙率和纳米通道网络，这将有利于离子传输的电致变色材料。将进行相关测量，以建立纳米结构和样品孔隙率与材料性能，特别是响应速度之间的关系。 总之，提出的研究计划是一个全面的，原创的和具有挑战性的，涵盖了基础知识，理论，线性和非线性光学特性的建模以及器件制造和表征，具有潜在的技术转移到工业。