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Nano Research 2017, 10(4): 1292-1301 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1406-1
Research Article | Issue | Published: 21 January 2017

Enhanced optical absorption in semiconductor nanoparticles enabled by nearfield dielectric scattering

Show Author's Information Kowsalya D. Rasamani1,  Jonathan J. Foley IV2,  Brittney Beidelman1,3,  Yugang Sun1( )
Department of Chemistry, Temple University1901 North 13th Street, PhiladelphiaPennsylvania19122USA
Department of ChemistryWilliam Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, WayneNew Jersey07470USA
Department of Physics, Bryn Mawr College101 North Merion Avenue, Bryn MawrPennsylvania19010USA
Keywords:
enhanced scattering nearfield, dielectric scattering, absorption enhancement, Mie theory
Cite this article:
Rasamani KD, Foley IV JJ, Beidelman B, et al. Enhanced optical absorption in semiconductor nanoparticles enabled by nearfield dielectric scattering. Nano Research, 2017, 10(4): 1292-1301. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-016-1406-1
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Abstract Full text Electronic supplementary material About this article

The optical absorption of semiconducting AgBr nanocubes is significantly increased by up to 5 times in the measured spectral range when they are bonded to the surface of dielectric SiO2 nanospheres through electrostatic interaction. The absorption enhancement factor depends on the wavelength and the size of the SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Finite-difference time-domain calculations provide the nearfield intensity mapping of a heterostructure that is composed of a AgBr nanocube in close contact with a SiO2 nanosphere. The electric-field distributions indicate the field enhancement near the SiO2/AgBr interface due to light scattering and absorption enhancement in the AgBr nanocube, implying that the enhanced scattering nearfield increases the absorption cross section of the AgBr nanocube. The absorption cross-section spectra calculated using Mie theory agree with the experimental observations. This discovery sheds light on the utilization of dielectric spherical particles to increase the absorption in semiconductor NPs, thus improving the light-harvesting efficiency for solar-energy conversion.


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Electronic supplementary material
About this article

Enhanced optical absorption in semiconductor nanoparticles enabled by nearfield dielectric scattering

Show Author's information Kowsalya D. Rasamani1, Jonathan J. Foley IV2, Brittney Beidelman1,3, Yugang Sun1( )
Department of Chemistry, Temple University1901 North 13th Street, PhiladelphiaPennsylvania19122USA
Department of ChemistryWilliam Paterson University, 300 Pompton Road, WayneNew Jersey07470USA
Department of Physics, Bryn Mawr College101 North Merion Avenue, Bryn MawrPennsylvania19010USA

Abstract

The optical absorption of semiconducting AgBr nanocubes is significantly increased by up to 5 times in the measured spectral range when they are bonded to the surface of dielectric SiO2 nanospheres through electrostatic interaction. The absorption enhancement factor depends on the wavelength and the size of the SiO2 nanoparticles (NPs). Finite-difference time-domain calculations provide the nearfield intensity mapping of a heterostructure that is composed of a AgBr nanocube in close contact with a SiO2 nanosphere. The electric-field distributions indicate the field enhancement near the SiO2/AgBr interface due to light scattering and absorption enhancement in the AgBr nanocube, implying that the enhanced scattering nearfield increases the absorption cross section of the AgBr nanocube. The absorption cross-section spectra calculated using Mie theory agree with the experimental observations. This discovery sheds light on the utilization of dielectric spherical particles to increase the absorption in semiconductor NPs, thus improving the light-harvesting efficiency for solar-energy conversion.

Keywords: enhanced scattering nearfield, dielectric scattering, absorption enhancement, Mie theory

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 07 November 2016
Revised: 03 December 2016
Accepted: 04 December 2016
Published: 21 January 2017
Issue date: April 2017

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2016

Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements

Y. G. S. gratefully acknowledges start-up funds from Temple University. J. J. F. gratefully acknowledges start-up funds from the College of Science and Health and the Department of Chemistry at William Paterson University.

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