Akram A. Khosroabadi

Spectroscopic Ellipsometry Study of Novel Nanostructured Transparent Conducting Oxide Structures

Spectroscopic ellipsometry has been used to find the optical constants, including refractive index, extinction coefficient, thickness and volume fraction of nanostructured transparent conducting oxides including indium tin oxide (ITO) and indium zinc oxide (IZO). We observed sharp features in the ellipsometry data, with the spectral peaks and positions depending on the nanostructure dimensions and material. A superposition of Lorentzian oscillators and the effective medium approximation has been applied to determine the volume ratio of voids and nanopillars, thereby providing the effective optical constants.

Nanoimprinted Hybrid Metal-Semiconductor Plasmonic Multilayers with Controlled Surface Nano Architecture for Applications in NIR Detectors

We present a proof of concept for tunable plasmon resonance frequencies in a core shell nano-architectured hybrid metal-semiconductor multilayer structure, with Ag as the active shell and ITO as the dielectric modulation media. Our method relies on the collective change in the dielectric function within the metal semiconductor interface to control the surface. Here we report fabrication and optical spectroscopy studies of large-area, nanostructured, hybrid silver and indium tin oxide (ITO) structures, with feature sizes below 100 nm and a controlled surface architecture. The optical and electrical properties of these core shell electrodes, including the surface plasmon frequency, can be tuned by suitably changing the order and thickness of the dielectric layers. By varying the dimensions of the nanopillars, the surface plasmon wavelength of the nanopillar Ag can be tuned from 650 to 690 nm. Adding layers of ITO to the structure further shifts the resonance wavelength toward the IR region and, depending on the sequence and thickness of the layers within the structure, we show that such structures can be applied in sensing devices including enhancing silicon as a photodetection material.

Light harvesting in organic solar cells using a nanostructured ITO grating

Nanostructured ITO gratings have been used in organic solar cells to enhance light absorption in a thin active layer of PCBM:P3HT via light harvesting. An additional peak at 680-700 nm in the absorption spectrum of the active layer appears, resulting in enhanced broadband absorption compared to the planar counterpart. FDTD simulation of the cell supports the experimental results and shows the grating effectively increases the electric field in the active layer.

Interface between C60 and Ag on nanostructured plasmonic Ag gratings: A sers study

Nanostructured electrodes and interfaces can enhance light absorption in organic solar cells due to efficient light harvesting. Ultrathin films of an active layer (C60) deposited on nanostructured grating electrodes show more absorption as a result of increased light trapping. Plasmonic nanostructured electrodes with various geometries and dimensions have been fabricated on printed polyacrylonitrile (PAN) and subsequently characterized. Surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) measurements show significant signal enhancement (over two orders of magnitude) on nanostructured samples when compared to planar Ag substrates due to local electromagnetic field enhancement. Furthermore, conversion of PAN to graphitic carbon is evidenced in SERS spectra. The surface area was determined using underpotential deposition (UPD) of thallium and agrees with the geometric surface area calculated from SEM images. The FDTD simulated electric field distribution inside the samples confirms the experimental results. A 60 fold increase in the electric field results in three to four orders of magnitude enhancement in the SERS signal depending on the dimensions of the pillars and gratings. Further study of the interaction between a top organic layer (C60) and the Ag electrode will help us to understand the nanoscale charge transfer rate critical to optimization and design of efficient organic solar cells.