Synthesis of Silver Nanoparticles by Plasma-Assisted Hot-Filament Evaporation for Enhancing in Luminescence Properties of Organic Light Emitting Diode

In this work, silver (Ag) nanoparticles were synthesized using plasma-assisted hot-filament evaporation, both with and without plasma deposition environments. This technique was used for the deposition of the nanoparticles in high-density, with controlling the size and interparticle separation. The size and interparticle separation acted as the primary factors of the variation of the localized surface plasmon resonance characteristics of the nanoparticles. The Ag nanoparticles reflected an additional layer in a typical organic light-emitting diode (OLED). The OLED with the Ag nanoparticles layer resulted in a low operating voltage, with a high luminance that reached 62.9 % under the hydrogen plasma environment, as compared to the reference device (OLED without the Ag nanoparticles layer). The effects of the Ag nanoparticles synthesis layer, both with and without plasma deposition on the OLED luminance, were also discussed.

Deposition of Silver Nanoparticles on Indium Tin Oxide Substrates by Plasma-Assisted Hot-Filament Evaporation

Nanoparticles of noble metals have unique properties including large surface energies, surface plasmon excitation, quantum confinement effect, and high electron accumulation. Among these nanoparticles, silver (Ag) nanoparticles have strong responses in visible light region due to its high plasmon excitation. These unique properties depend on the size, shape, interparticle separation and surrounded medium of Ag nanoparticles. Indium tin oxide (ITO) is widely used as an electrode for flat panel devices in such as electronic, optoelectronic and sensing applications. Nowadays, Ag nanoparticles were deposited on ITO to improve their optical and electrical properties. Plasma-assisted hot-filament evaporation (PAHFE) technique produced high-density of crystalline Ag nanoparticles with controlling in the size and distribution on ITO surface. In this chapter, we will discuss about the PAHFE technique for the deposition of Ag nanoparticles on ITO and influences of the experimental parameters on the physical and optical properties, and electronic structure of the deposited Ag nanoparticles on ITO.

SHI irradiation induced modifications of plasmonic properties of Ag-TiO2 thin film and study using FDTD simulation

Modifications in morphological and plasmonic properties of heavily doped Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite thin films by ion irradiation have been observed. The Ag-TiO2 nanocomposite thin films were synthesized by RF co-sputtering and irradiated by 90 MeV Ni ions with different fluences. The modifications in morphological, structural and plasmonic properties of the nanocomposite thin films caused by ion irradiation were studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and UV-Vis absorption spectroscopy. The thickness of the film and concentration of Ag were assessed by Rutheford backscattering (RBS) as ~50 nm and 56 at.%, respectively. Interestingly, localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) appeared at 566 nm in the thin film irradiated at the fluence of 1 × 1013 ions/cm2. This plasmonic behavior can be attributed to the increment in interparticle separation. Increased interparticle separation diminishes the plasmonic coupling between the nanoparticles and the LSPR appears in the visible region. The distribution of Ag nanoparticles obtained from HR-TEM images has been used to simulate absorption spectra and electric field distribution along Ag nanoparticles with the help of FDTD (Finite Difference Time Domain). Further, the ion irradiation results (experimental as well simulated) were compared with the annealed nanocomposite thin film and it was found that optical properties of heavily doped metal in the metal oxide matrix can be more improved by ion irradiation in comparison with thermal annealing.

Bonding state energy of metal nanoparticle dimer and its dependence on nanosphere size and interparticle separation

A study is conducted regarding the effects of particle size [Formula: see text] and interparticle separation [Formula: see text] on the electromagnetic (plasmon) coupling in a dimer of two identical metal nanospheres. The dimer states are modeled as the hybridized bonding and antibonding states of two isolated plasmon states, with the associated energies given in terms of the isolated plasmon energy ([Formula: see text], the coupling energy ([Formula: see text] and the overlap integral ([Formula: see text] of the constituent plasmonic fields. The resonance absorption energies of the isolated plasmon and the dimer in certain dielectric medium are calculated according to the Mie theory for incident light of parallel polarization along the dimer axis. The results are fitted with the bonding state energies of both Au and Ag nanosphere dimers for [Formula: see text] ranging within 10–20[Formula: see text]nm and x varied within [Formula: see text]–200[Formula: see text]nm in compliance with the restricted consideration of dipole absorption spectra. The excellent fits of the bonding state energies [Formula: see text] for the ranges of [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] variations are consistently achieved with [Formula: see text] around 0.99 by a single function of the form [Formula: see text] where [Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text] vary with the nanosphere materials and the surrounding media considered. This result suggests the possible relation of the best fitted functional form [Formula: see text] with the underlying physical mechanism.

Spectral signatures of charge transfer in assemblies of molecularly-linked plasmonic nanoparticles

Self-assembly of functionalized nanoparticles (NPs) provides a unique class of nanomaterials for exploring and utilizing quantum-plasmonic effects that occur if the interparticle separation between NPs approaches a few nanometers and below. We review recent theoretical and experimental studies of plasmon coupling in self-assembled NP structures that contain molecular linkers between the NPs. Charge transfer through the interparticle gap of an NP dimer results in a significant blue-shift of the bonding dipolar plasmon (BDP) mode relative to classical electromagnetic predictions, and gives rise to new coupled plasmon modes, the so-called charge transfer plasmon (CTP) modes. The blue-shift of the plasmon spectrum is accompanied by a weakening of the electromagnetic field in the gap of the NPs. Due to an optical far-field signature that is sensitive to charge transfer across the gap, plasmonic molecules represent a sensor platform for detecting and characterizing gap conductivity in an optical fashion and for characterizing the role of molecules in facilitating the charge transfer across the gap.

Numerical and Experimental Investigation of Piezoresistance of Asphalt Concrete Containing Graphite

Asphalt concrete is an insulating material. Conductive materials are added to asphalt concrete in order that improving the conductivity. Conductive asphalt concrete (CAC) has become a promising method to snow melting and self-monitoring. In this study, the piezoresistance of CAC which can be improved the conductivity through graphite are analyzed. Based on the interparticle separation and bitumen film-thickness of graphite particle, a model has been developed to predict the piezoresistance under the applied stress. The influences of applied stress, graphite diameter, graphite volume fraction, compressive modulus on the piezoresistance are interpreted through laboratory experiments. Both the numerical and experimental results show that the theoretical data obtained from the model are found to agree with the experimental ones fairly well. In addition, it was found that all these parameters influence the piezoresistance by altering the change process of interparticle separation of graphite.

Velocity distribution in active particles systems

We derive an analytic expression for the distribution of velocities of multiple interacting active particles which we test by numerical simulations. In clear contrast with equilibrium we find that the velocities are coupled to positions. Our model shows that, even for two particles only, the individual velocities display a variance depending on the interparticle separation and the emergence of correlations between the velocities of the particles. When considering systems composed of many particles we find an analytic expression connecting the overall velocity variance to density, at the mean-field level, and to the pair distribution function valid in the limit of small noise correlation times. Finally we discuss the intriguing analogies and main differences between our effective free energy functional and the theoretical scenario proposed so far for phase-separating active particles.