• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2013.02a
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• pp.662-662
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• 2013

Over the last several decades, innovative light-harvesting devices have evolved to achieve high efficiency in solar energy transfer. Research on the mechanisms for plasmon resonance is very desirable to overcome the conventional efficiency limits of photovoltaics. The influence of localized surface plasmon resonance on hot electron flow at a metal-semiconductor interface was observed with a Schottky diode composed of a thin silver layer on $TiO_2$. The photocurrent is generated by absorption of photons when electrons have enough energy to travel over the Schottky barrier and into the titanium oxide conduction band. The correlation between the hot electrons and the surface plasmon is confirmed by matching the range of peaks between the incident photons to current conversion efficiency (IPCE, flux of collected electrons per flux of incident photons) and UV-Vis spectra. The photocurrent measured on Ag/$TiO_2$ exhibited surface plasmon peaks; whereas, in contrast to the Au/$TiO_2$, a continuous Au thin film doesn't exhibit surface plasmon peaks. We modified the thickness and morphology of a continuous Ag layer by electron beam evaporation deposition and heating under gas conditions and found that the morphological change and thickness of the Ag film are key factors in controlling the peak position of light absorption.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2014.02a
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• pp.133.2-133.2
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• 2014

A gap surface plasmon resonator have received considerable attention because it can dramatically enhance the absorption of the electromagnetic field. However, whereas most of studies were just focused on the absorption within a narrow range of wavelength, few studies have been performed for the broadband absorption in the visible range. Therefore, in this study, we discuss methods that can induce broadband light absorption using gap plasmon resonance in visible regime. The gap plasmon resonator will offer great potential for appplications to solar cells and bioimaging.

• Proceedings of the Korean Vacuum Society Conference
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• 2011.08a
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• pp.162-162
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• 2011

Nanometer-sized noble metals can trap and guide sunlight for enhanced absorption of light based on surface plasmon that is beneficial for generation of hot electron flows. A pulse of high kinetic energy electrons (1-3 eV), or hot electrons, in metals can be generated after surface exposure to external energy, such as in the absorption of light or in exothermic chemical processes. These energetic electrons are not at thermal equilibrium with the metal atoms. It is highly probable that the correlation between hot electron generation and surface plasmon can offer a new guide for energy conversion systems [1-3]. We show that hot electron flow is generated on the modified gold thin film (<10 nm) of metal-semiconductor (TiO2) Schottky diodes by photon absorption, which is amplified by localized surface plasmon resonance. The short-circuit photocurrent obtained with low energy photons (lower than bandgap of TiO2, ~3.1-3.2 eV) is consistent with Fowler's law, confirming the presence of hot electron flows. The morphology of the metal thin film was modified to a connected gold island structure after heating to 120, 160, 200, and 240$^{\circ}C$. These connected island structures exhibit both a significant increase in hot electron flow and a localized surface plasmon with the peak energy at 550-570 nm, which was separately characterized with UV-Vis [4]. The result indicates a strong correlation between the hot electron flow and localized surface plasmon resonance with possible application in hot electron based solar cells and photodetectors.

• Journal of the Korean Chemical Society
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• v.43 no.1
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• pp.1-7
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• 1999

Metal colloidal particles have been prepared by a photo-chemical process in an aqueous solution containing semiconductor nanocrystallites. Metal colloidal particles produced in CdS and AgBr exhibit different absorption spectra. Au particles produced in solution with CdS show typical Au plasmon resonance absorption spectra. On the other hand Ag particles in solution with AgBr shows surface plasmon resonance absorption spectra which are red-shifted, as compared to that of a dispersion of homogeneous Ag colloidal particles in the same host. The extent of red-shift depends on the UV illumination time. This phenomenon is interpreted within the context of effective medium theory for small volume fractions. From the theory, a metal coated particle predicts Ag plasmon resonance, red shifted with respect to 400 nm that would be associated with a silver particle in solution. The absorption peak position is very sensitive to the coating thickness.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.21 no.10
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• pp.525-531
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• 2011

Two dimensional (2D) arrays of noble metal nanoparticles are widely used in the sensing of nanoscale biological and chemical events. Research in this area has sparked considerable interest in many fields owing to the novel optical properties, e.g., the localized surface plasmon resonance, of these metallic nanoarrays. In this paper, we report successes in fabricating 2D arrays of gold nano-islands using nanosphere lithography. The reproducibility and the effectiveness of the nano-patterning method are tested by means of spin coating and capillary force deposition. We found that the capillary force deposition method was more effective for nanospheres with diameters greater than 600 nm, whereas the spin coating method works better for nanospheres with diameters less than 600 nm. The optimal deposition parameters for both methods were reported, showing about 80% reproducibility. In addition, we characterize gold nano-island arrays both geometrically with AFM as well as optically with UV-VIS spectrometry. The AFM images revealed that the obtained nano-arrays formed a hexagonal pattern of truncated tetrahedron nano-islands. The experimental and theoretical values of the geometric parameters were compared. The 2D gold nano-arrays showed strong LSPR in the absorption spectra. As the nano-islands increased in size, the LSPR absorption bands became red-shifted. Linear dependence of the plasmon absorption maximum on the size of the gold nano-islands was identified through the increment in the plasmon absorption maximum rate for a one nanometer increase in the characteristic length of the nano-islands. We found that the 2D gold nano-arrays showed nearly seven-fold higher sensitivity of the absorption spectrum to the size of the nano-islands as compared to colloidal gold nano-particles.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.24 no.8
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• pp.417-422
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• 2014

In this study, we investigated localized surface plasmon resonance and the related coupling phenomena with respect to various geometric parameters of Ag nanoparticles, including the size and inter-particle distance. The plasmon resonances of Ag nanoparticles were studied using three-dimensional finite difference time domain(FDTD) calculations. From the FDTD calculations, we discovered the existence of a symmetric and an anti-symmetric plasmon coupling modes in the coupled Ag nanoparticles. The dependence of the resonance wavelength with respect to the inter-particle distance was also investigated, revealing that the anti-symmetric mode is more closely correlated with the inter-particle distance of the Ag nanoparticles than the symmetric mode. We also found that higher order resonance modes are appeared in the extinction spectrum for closely spaced Ag nanoparticles. Plasmon resonance calculations for the Ag particles coated with a $SiO_2$ layer showed enhanced plasmon coupling due to the strengthened plasmon resonance, suggesting that the inter-particle distance of the Ag nanoparticles can be estimated by measuring the transmission and absorption spectra with the plasmon resonance of symmetric and anti-symmetric localized surface plasmons.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.31 no.2
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• pp.80-84
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• 2018

In this study, we investigated plasmon effects to maximize the sterilization of dielectric discharge. We predicted the effect using the finite difference time domain (FDTD) method as a function of electrode shape, size, and period. The structure of the electrode was designed with a thickness of 100 nm of silver nanoparticles on a glass substrate, and was varied according to the shape, size, and period of the electrode hole. Based on the results, it was confirmed that the effect of plasmons was independent of the shape of the electrode hole. It was thus confirmed that the plasmon effect depended only on the size and period of the holes. Further, the plasmon effect was affected by the size rather than period of the holes. Because the absorption of light by the metal varied according to the size of the hole, the plasmon effect generated by the absorption of light also varied. The best results were obtained when the radius and period of the electrode holes were $0.1{\mu}m$ and $0.4{\mu}m$, respectively.

• Korean Journal of Metals and Materials
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• v.46 no.7
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• pp.464-470
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• 2008

Metallic nanostructures have great potential for bio-chemical sensor applications due to the excitation of localized surface plasmon and its sensitive response to environmental change. Unlike the commonly explored absorption-based sensing, the optical scattering provides single particle detection scheme. For the localized surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy, the metallic nanostructures with controlled shape and size have been usually fabricated on adhesion-layer pre-coated transparent glass substrates. In this study, we calculated the optical scattering properties of plasmonic Au nanodisc using a discrete dipole approximation method and analyzed the effect of adhesion layer on them. Our result also indicates that there is a trade-off between the surface plasmon damping and the capability of supporting nanostructures in determining the optimal thickness of adhesion layer. Marginal thickness of Ti adhesion layer for supporting Au nanostructures fabricated on a silica glass substrate was experimentally analyzed by an adhesion strength test using a nano-indentation technique.

• Korean Journal of Materials Research
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• v.19 no.12
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• pp.637-643
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• 2009

In this study, we analyzed the effect of silicon oxynitride matrix on the optical properties of Au nanoparticles dispersed on composite film and explored the effectiveness of the silicon in fine tuning the refractive index of the composite film for applications in optical waveguide devices. The atomic fraction of nitrogen in $SiO_xN_y$ films was controlled by varying the relative flow ratio of nitrogen gas in reactive sputtering and was evaluated optically using an effective medium theory with Bruggeman geometry consisting of a random mixture between $SiO_2$ and $Si_3N_4$. The Au nanoparticles were embedded in the $SiO_xN_y$ matrix by employing the alternating deposition technique and clearly showed an absorption peak due to the excitation of surface plasmon. With increasing nitrogen atomic fraction in the matrix, the surface plasmon resonance wavelength shifted to a longer wavelength (a red-shift) with an enhanced resonance absorption. These characteristics were interpreted using the Maxwell-Garnett effective medium theory. The formation of a guided mode in a slab waveguide consisting of 3 $\mu$m thick Au:$SiO_xN_y$ nanocomposite film was confirmed at the telecommunication wavelength of 1550 nm by prism coupler method and compared with the case of using $SiO_2$ matrix. The use of $SiO_xN_y$ matrix provides an effective way of controlling the mode confinement while maintaining or even enhancing the surface plasmon resonance properties.

• Proceedings of the Optical Society of Korea Conference
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• 2008.07a
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• pp.337-338
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• 2008