Conductive silver films with tunable surface properties: thickness, roughness and porosity

Enhanced Broadband Light Harvesting in Ultrathin Absorbers Enabled by Epitaxial Stabilization of Silver Thin Film Mirrors

“…Silver thin films are instrumental in a wide range of microelectronic, , optoelectronic, − plasmonic, , and energy conversion applications. , However, poor thermal stability in various environments often leads to limitations with regard to device processing and stability during operation. − One major challenge is in the deposition of metal-oxide thin films directly onto silver thin films at elevated temperatures. Among many potential applications, such metal-oxide/silver stacks are particularly attractive for use in resonant light-trapping structures where strong interference in ultrathin film-absorbing layers deposited on specular back reflectors leads to enhanced broadband absorption. − For this application, silver is an attractive metal due to its high reflectivity in the VIS/NIR region.…”