The New Jersey Institute of Technology's
Electronic Theses & Dissertations Project

Title:	Artificial dielectric materials : synthesis and optical characterization of small metal clusters embedded in polymeric matrix
Author:	Shilpee, Nazneen Karim
View Online:	njit-etd1994-156 (xiii, 80 pages ~ 2.8 MB pdf)
Department:	Committee for the Interdisciplinary Program in Materials Science and Engineering
Degree:	Master of Science
Program:	Engineering Science
Document Type:	Thesis
Advisory Committee:	Grebel, Haim (Committee chair) Levy, Roland A. (Committee member) Kristol, David S. (Committee member)
Date:	1994-10
Keywords:	Metallic films -- Optical properties Thin films -- Optical properties Dielectric films
Availability:	Unrestricted
Abstract:	This study is concerned with the fabrication of films made of gold, nickel, and silicon clusters dispersed in a polymeric matrix. The films were fabricated by use of metal or semiconductor sputtering and plasma polymerization of Methyl Methacrylate monomer in a capacitively coupled RF (13.56 MHz) sputtering system. Optical transmittance and optical reflectance were measured as a function of wavelength. The optical absorption of metal or silicon clusters was studied as a function of cluster size. Cluster size and content were determined from Transmission Electron Micrographs (TEM). The absorption band resulting from a plasma resonance in the clusters was found to be shifted to the longer wavelengths as the metal cluster size and volume fraction increased. For gold, a linear relationship was obtained between the wavelength of the absorption peak and the deposition time, while, for nickel it was nonlinear. Overall, the clusters seemed to maintain their bulk properties in addition to size related plasma resonances.