Three-dimensional photonic microstructures produced by electric field assisted dissolution of metal nanoclusters in multilayer stacks

Abstract

The formation of three dimensional (3D) photonic microstructures by the locally selective dissolution of metal clusters embedded in dielectric multilayer stacks is presented. Dissolution of clusters is performed by the simultaneous application of electric field and temperature. The produced photonic structures show a highly tailorable optical behavior that combines the interferential effects of multilayer stacks and the surface plasmon resonance of non-dissolved metal clusters. Due to its feasibility and the possibility to widely modify the optical properties of the resulting structures, the current approach represents a promising method for the production of novel components based on 3D-metallodielectric photonic structures.

General approach to reliable characterization of thin metal films

“…It was verified earlier by nonoptical methods that, under these deposition conditions, silver forms not compact, but island, films [29][30][31]. The reason to surround Ag with SiO 2 was to provide the same embedding media to all clusters, as the optical properties of MIFs depend strongly on the dielectric environment [7,23].…”

Tuning the effective dielectric function of thin film metal-dielectric composites by controlling the deposition temperature

“…Applications resulting from such combination are highly absorbing optical coatings, 3,4 high luminosity reflectors, 5 and three-dimensional photonic structures. 6,7 In order to design multilayer structures that include metal-dielectric composites it is required to have an accurate knowledge of the effective dielectric function of the composite. From the application point of view, it is desirable that this effective dielectric function can be tailored as widely as possible.…”

Multilayer based interferential-plasmonic structure: metal cluster 3D grating combined with dielectric mirror

“…Ag film deposited in this conditions remains in the shape of metal clusters with no significant percolation among the clusters. The SiO 2 layers of the given thickness cover the metal nanoclusters completely, so the resulting coating has a real multilayer structure 11,12 .…”

“…We have fabricated 3D microstructure by EFAD of metal clusters embedded in multilayer stacks 10,11 . The optical behaviour of the structure is additionally tailored by the interferential effects: the stack is further coated with a dielectric mirror.…”