Cryogenic deposition of Cu and Cu/Au plasmonic nanoparticles: optical properties and potential photodevice applications
MATERIALS RESEARCH EXPRESS, cilt.13, sa.19, 2026 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 13 Sayı: 19
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.1088/2053-1591/aeab31
- Dergi Adı: MATERIALS RESEARCH EXPRESS
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Chemical Abstracts Core, Compendex, INSPEC, Directory of Open Access Journals, Materials Science & Engineering Collection (ProQuest), Technology Collection (ProQuest)
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
This study investigates the growth and characteristic properties of Copper (Cu) and Copper/Gold (Cu/Au) nanostructures fabricated via a cryogenic technique for plasmonic applications. Initially, Cu nanoparticles were grown on glass substrates using the cryogenic technique at substrate temperatures ranging from 100 to 300 K in 50 K increments for 15 s in a vacuum environment (4.5 & times; 10-6 Torr). Field emission scanning electron microscope (FESEM) images of Cu nanoparticles showed that the nanostructured Cu layer produced at a substrate temperature of 200 K consisted of spherical nanoparticles with a relatively uniform size distribution, with particle sizes (diameter) of approximately 10-12 nm. This homogeneous morphology is consistent with the previously proposed soliton-growth model under cryogenic deposition conditions. Optical measurements identified a distinct surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak at approximately 600 nm for all Cu samples. In the next stage of the study, a Cu/Au nanostructured was developed by integrating Cu nanoparticles (grown at 200 K) with Au nanoparticles (grown at 230 K). FESEM images of the produced Cu/Au nanostructure revealed a grain size of approximately 23 nm. Atomic force microscope images revealed an average roughness value (Ra) of 4.254 nm for the Cu/Au nanostructure. Optical measurements revealed that the effective SPR event in the Cu/Au nanostructure occurs at a wavelength of similar to 590 nm. The observed SPR-related responses around 600 nm for Cu and 590 nm for the Cu/Au nanostructure demonstrate that the optical response can be tuned through substrate temperature and material combination. Such visible-region plasmonic responses are potentially relevant to photodetectors and photovoltaic structures because plasmonic nanoparticles can enhance local electromagnetic fields and light-matter interactions near an adjacent photoactive semiconductor layer. However, these application-related implications are considered potential rather than experimentally demonstrated device enhancements in the present study. The results demonstrate that the optical plasmonic response of metallic nanoparticles can be modified by controlling the substrate temperature using the cryogenic technique.