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: 2018
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2018-01-01 至 2019-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=667890
• 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是一个重要的战略研究领域，由于研究单个纳米颗粒和纳米颗粒组合的新工具的发展，纳米结构薄膜的光学性质迅速发展。该领域在纳米制造和纳米颗粒合成方面取得了显著进展，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。该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，以进一步推进当前对此类薄膜或系统与纳米结构及其预期应用相关行为的理解。为了实现我们的目标，我们提出以下建议。先进的理论建模将用于探索各种纳米颗粒的不同特性，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不同类型的不对称纳米粒子集成，以前没有研究过，根据我们最近的探索性工作，可以呈现出特殊的品质，以感知环境变化。电子光刻将用于制备优化的耦合粒子器件，该器件可以用高精度扫描近场光谱学来表征。本文还将详细研究金属纳米棒复合材料的非线性磁化率与颗粒取向和填充因子的关系，并建立理论模型对结果进行分析。这种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很大的潜力。纳米结构薄膜的其他应用将得到实现，特别是在设计创新和高效的光伏和智能可切换涂层方面。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，从而增加器件的吸收，从而提高性能。利用有效介质理论描述的等离子体有源层光学特性的光电模型和有机半导体模型来研究等离子体粒子对短路光电流的影响。高质量的等离子体有机太阳能电池将被制造和测试。纳米结构的电致变色薄膜可能会增加智能涂层的响应时间，使它们很容易适用于智能窗户、可切换的眼镜或显示器。为此，我们建议充分探索掠角沉积（GLAD）方法制造薄膜的潜力，以创造所需的孔隙度和纳米通道网络，从而有利于电致变色材料中的离子传输。将进行相关的测量，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研究计划，涵盖了基础、理论、线性和非线性光学特性建模以及器件制造和表征等方面，具有将技术转移到工业的潜力。