Growth and characterization of two-dimensional nanostructures

Two dimensional nanostructures of palladium, nickel, silver and gadolinium were grown by means of physical evaporation in atmospheres of high vacuum and ultra high vacuum. The qualitative characterization, in situ, of the nanostructures was carried out with techniques of surface analysis: Auger electron spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The model for the quantification of contaminants in the nanostructures, was proposed by Seah and Shirley, and was made using the spectra XPS measured in situ in the atmospheres of vacuum. For the two-dimensional nanostructures of gadolinium of thicknesses 8 Å, 16 Å, 24 Å, 32 Å, 36 Å, 44 Å, 50 Å, 61 Å, 77 Å, 81 Å, 92 Å and 101 Å, were obtained optical spectra of transmission measured in situ. An band of absorption centered at approximately 2,40 eV is obtained by an increase in the dynamic conductivity from the optical constants, i.e. refractive index and extinction coefficient, of the nanostructure of gadolinium. In addition, the optical constants for the gadolinium nanostructures have presented a maximum of 80 Å of thickness and then it was continued a decreasing tendency toward the values that were reported in the literature for bulk of gadolinium. (author)