Silver Nanoparticles for Fluorescent Nanocomposites by High-Pressure Magnetron Sputtering.

We report on the formation of silver nanoparticles by gas aggregation in a reaction chamber at room temperature. The size distribution of nanoparticles deposited on a silicon substrate for various lengths of an aggregation (high-pressure) chamber was investigated by atomic force microscopy. Nanoparticles were characterized by scanning and transmission electron microscopy and spectral ellipsometry.

Fabrication of black aluminium thin films by magnetron sputtering.

Black aluminium thin films were prepared by direct current (DC) pulsed magnetron sputtering. The N concentration in the Ar-N mixture that was used as the deposition atmosphere was varied from 0 to 10%, and its impact on the film growth and optical properties was studied. A strong change in the film growth process was observed as a function of the N concentration.

Density patterns in metal films produced by laser interference.

Fringed periodic patterns have been produced by laser interference at 193 nm in an almost continuous 9.5 nm-thick Ag film that exhibits a number density of ≈189 μm(-2) holes. Patterns with four periods in the range of 1.

Period dependence of laser induced patterns in metal films.

Periodic fringed patterns with four periods in the range 1.8-10.2 μm have been produced in continuous Ag films that have thicknesses of 14.

2D plasmonic and diffractive structures with sharp features by UV laser patterning.

The aim of this work is to produce 2D plasmonic and diffractive structures in Ag films with sharp features for which both a deeper understanding of laser induced transformation upon modulated laser intensity and a correlation between structural and optical properties are required. We compare results obtained by exposing silver films to an excimer laser operating at 193 nm whose intensity is either modulated or homogeneous. In all cases, one laser exposure is enough to break the film into nanoparticles (NPs).

Variable narrow-band transmission filters for spectrometry from space. 2. Fabrication process.

The optical components described here are variable narrow-band transmission filters, where the transmittance peak varies with the position along the surface of the filter itself. They allow the construction of ultracompact and low-weight spectrometers for space applications. The theoretical behavior of graded filters has been already investigated by the authors, for imaging spectrometry of the Earth surface.

Variable narrowband transmission filters with a wide rejection band for spectrometry.

Variable narrowband transmission filters are useful for the development of compact spectrometers. For this purpose the filter should be directly coupled to the detector and the wavelength of the transmission peak should move in one surface direction over a length of a few millimeters. To obtain both a wide measurement spectrum and high accuracy, the ratio of extreme operating wavelengths is required to be greater than 2:1 and the width of the transmission band narrower than 10 nm.