XRD, optical and AFM studies on pristine and partially iodized Ag thin film

Abstract

Abstract This study has shown that thermally evaporated Ag thin films neither too thin (ultra-thin) nor too thick (foil)—50 and 130 nm thick films used here—are ideal for investigating surface modification by a simple iodization procedure for less than ∼15 min. XRD, optical, AFM have helped track the interesting changes such as appearance of surface plasmon absorption and initiation of Ag crystalline formation at the nanostructure level. The 50 nm, Ag films show gradual development of surface Plasmon resonance and brood visible bands forward by raising absorption in contrast 130 nm Ag films show flat absorbance over the wavelength 350–800 nm with absorbance systemically reducing upon the increase of iodization time. The systemic trends absorbance spectra should be useful in the design of detector bases in the iodine. Nanostructures supporting localized plasmons are the subject of intense research for their applications in plasmonics including nanophotonic devices, chemical sensors, and optical filters.