Abstract
Multilayer nanolaminate TiAlN/Ag and Al2O3/Ag metal-insulator-metal (MIM) coatings with thicknesses of individual layers from a few to several hundreds of nanometers were fabricated by direct current magnetron sputtering. Their optical transmittance and reflectance spectra were measured for photon energies 1–5 eV (1240–248 nm). The spectra were non-monotonous as their transmission and reflection bands were strongly dependent on the coating architecture. A set of advanced electron spectroscopy methods was used to analyse the electronic structure of the coatings controlling optical properties. Energies of plasmons peaks and the distribution of their intensities are functions of the Ag layers thickness as well as the composition and thickness of the dielectric nanolayers in the MIM nanocomposite. Statistical analysis established the cross-correlations between geometrical parameters of the coatings, transmissions and reflection bands on the optical spectra and parameters of the electronic structure. Particularly, the blue side of the transmittance band is controlled by plasmons while the dielectric band gap determines the transmittance of the red side. The obtained experimental results allowed us to fulfil the computed architectural design of a multilayer Al2O3/Ag coating with a narrow bandwidth in the visible light region and strong reflection in the infrared and ultraviolet regions.
Highlights
Thin-film multilayer metal-dielectric (MIM) coatings are a new class of plasmon metamaterials whose interaction with external electromagnetic radiation is caused by lattice-scattering effects.The characteristic dimensions are several orders lower than the wavelengths of the radiation.MIM nanocomposite materials are demonstrating properties sharply distinctive from the bulk phases.External electromagnetic radiation in these artificial materials excites plasmon and phonon waves that are transforming the initial radiation
Surface plasmon-polariton (SPP) interactions result from the coupling between collective oscillations of conducting electrons in metal and lattice waves in dielectrics [1,2]
The measurements were performed with the 5 MV Cockroft–Walton tandetron (HVEE B.V., Amersfoort, The Netherlands) at the Centro de Microanálisis de Materiales (CMAM) in Madrid (Spain) using a 2 MeV He+ probing beam and the backscattered ions were detected with a silicon detector at a scattering angle of 170◦
Summary
Thin-film multilayer metal-dielectric (MIM) coatings are a new class of plasmon metamaterials whose interaction with external electromagnetic radiation is caused by lattice-scattering effects. Multilayer thin film coating on the solar panel has the function of spectral control considering the spectral response characteristics of the absorbing layer of the solar cell in addition to the antireflective function These planar MIM coatings have the prospect to reduce optical and electrical losses and improve conversion efficiency. The inflected electronic structure alters the physical properties of materials [14,15] For this reason, the development of new plasmon planar MIM coatings with a perfect thermal barrier and optical properties is a complex engineering problem requiring experimental investigations of the propagation of plasmon and phonon waves in thin-film. The present research is dedicated to studies of the functions of metal and dielectric layer parameters in MIM planar metamaterials in the spatial localisation of plasmon excitations in connection with their optical properties in the wideband, from infrared (IR) to ultraviolet (UV). The key scientific problem is the establishment of interconnection between the structural localization of plasmon excitations and optical filtering properties of nanolaminate MIM coatings for the design of new prospective antireflection coatings
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