Fabrication of Various Plasmonic Pt Nanostructures via Indium Assisted Solid-State Dewetting: From Small Nanoparticles to Widely Connected Networks

In this paper, the modified solid-state dewetting (MSSD) of well-defined and various uniform Pt nanostructures is demonstrated by the auxiliary diffusion enhancement. The MSSD utilizes the introduction of metallic indium (In) layers with high diffusivity in between sapphire and platinum (Pt) layer, through which the global diffusion and dewetting of metallic atoms can be significantly enhanced. Subsequently, the In atoms can be sublimated from the NP matrix, resulting in the formation of pure Pt NPs. By the systematic control of In and Pt bi-layer thickness, various areal density, size and configuration of Pt NPs are demonstrated. The In(2 nm)/Pt(2 nm) bilayers establish very small and highly dense NPs throughout the temperature range due to the early maturation of growth. Intermediate size of NPs is demonstrated with the In(45 nm)/Pt(15 nm) bilayers with the much improved interparticle spacings by annealing between 650 and 900 °C for 450 s. Finally, the In(30 nm)/Pt(30 nm) bilayers demonstrate the widely connected network-like nanostructures. In addition, the finite difference time domain (FDTD) simulation is employed to exploit the local electric field distributions at resonance wavelengths. The dewetting characteristics of In/Pt bilayers is systematically controlled by the modifications of layer thickness and annealing temperature and is systematically described based on the diffusion of atoms, Rayleigh instability and surface energy minimization mechanism. The optical properties demonstrate dynamic and widely tunable localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) responses depending upon the various surface morphologies of Pt nanostructures.