Large range localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles films dependent of surface morphology

Graphical abstract: - Highlights: • Large range tuned localized surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanoparticles films. • The noble metal Ag has the strongest localized surface plasmon resonance and low optical loss. Besides, it is the cheaper than other noble metal. • The nanoparticles films fabricated using physical methods have the stronger interaction with substrates than chemical methods, which are not easy exfoliation. - Abstract: Noble metal nanoparticles (NPs) have received enormous attention since it displays uniquely optical and electronic properties. In this work, we study localized surface plasmon resonances (LSPR) at different thicknesses and substrate temperatures of Ag NPs films grown by Laser Molecule Beam Epitaxy (LMBE). The LSPR wavelength can be largely tuned in the visible light range of 470 nm to 770 nm. The surface morphology is characterized by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The average size of Ag NPs increased with the thickness increased which leading to the LSPR band broaden and wavelength red-shift. As the substrate temperature is increased from RT to 200 °C, the Ag NPs size distribution becomes homogeneous and particle shape changes from oblate spheroid to sphere, the LSPR band displays sharp, blue-shift and significantly symmetric. Obviously, the morphology of Ag NPs films is important for tuning absorption position. We obtain the cubic crystal structure of Ag NPs with a (1 1 1) main diffraction peak from the X-ray diffraction (XRD) spectra. The high resolution TEM (HR-TEM) and selected area electron diffraction (SAED) prove that Ag NPs is polycrystal structure. The Ag NPs films with large range absorption in visible light region can composite with semiconductor to apply in various optical or photoelectric devices.