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Microbolometer arrays, i.e., arrays of micro-scale pixels sensing temperature via resistance changes, have proven to be an effective basis for real-time imaging instrumentation in infrared as well as terahertz frequencies. In previous work, a design of THz and IR absorbing nano-laminates of dielectric and metal layers was studied. It was shown via numerical modeling that absorption may be maximized by appropriate choices of thickness, permittivity and conductivity. In this work, an analytical approach to the problem is formulated based on the standard recursive multiple reflection formulas for multi-layered planar structures. The results fully confirm and extend previous numerical work. A previous relationship between wavelength and silicon thickness for maximum absorption, derived numerically for specific parameter combinations, is now generalized in a parametric closed form. The method can be extended to include multiple lossy dielectric layers and may serve as a tool for optimizing the absorption characteristics of more complex layered absorbing structures. This could enhance the sensitivity of the detection scheme of interest, providing benefits in terms of cost, efficiency, precision, and adjustability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Microbolometer arrays, i.e., arrays of micro-scale pixels sensing temperature via resistance changes, have proven to be an effective basis for real-time imaging instrumentation in infrared as well as terahertz frequencies. In previous work, a design of THz and IR absorbing nano-laminates of dielectric and metal layers was studied. It was shown via numerical modeling that absorption may be maximized by appropriate choices of thickness, permittivity and conductivity. In this work, an analytical approach to the problem is formulated based on the standard recursive multiple reflection formulas for multi-layered planar structures. The results fully confirm and extend previous numerical work. A previous relationship between wavelength and silicon thickness for maximum absorption, derived numerically for specific parameter combinations, is now generalized in a parametric closed form. The method can be extended to include multiple lossy dielectric layers and may serve as a tool for optimizing the absorption characteristics of more complex layered absorbing structures. This could enhance the sensitivity of the detection scheme of interest, providing benefits in terms of cost, efficiency, precision, and adjustability.

Inspired by butterfly wing architectures, a facile but efficient approach is developed to realize three sensing characteristics in a single pressure sensor by harnessing hierarchical wrinkling‐cracking architectures, including i) wrinkling‐dominant (WD) mode, ii) wrinkling and cracking‐dominant (WCD) mode, and iii) cracking‐dominant (CD) mode. The pressure sensor can exhibit distinct sensing performances for various specific applications, depending on the working mode. In a WD mode, the sensor reveals an ultrahigh sensitivity (≈20 kPa−1) and a low limit of detection (0.6 Pa), capable of sensing acoustic vibrations, subtle pulses, and tiny motions. The sensor in WCD mode can monitor the full‐range human motion from the subtle pulse to human gait during walking/jogging. Moreover, the sensor in CD mode exhibits high sensitivity (1420 MPa−1) and excellent linearity over the ultrahigh pressure range (greater than 20 MPa), and are able to detect the movement of a car and distinguish the embarkation/debarkation of an adult passenger. The underlying mechanisms for the three sensing modes have been clearly elucidated, respectively. These findings open up new possibilities to design flexible pressure sensors by harnessing wrinkling‐cracking architectures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Inspired by butterfly wing architectures, a facile but efficient approach is developed to realize three sensing characteristics in a single pressure sensor by harnessing hierarchical wrinkling‐cracking architectures, including i) wrinkling‐dominant (WD) mode, ii) wrinkling and cracking‐dominant (WCD) mode, and iii) cracking‐dominant (CD) mode. The pressure sensor can exhibit distinct sensing performances for various specific applications, depending on the working mode. In a WD mode, the sensor reveals an ultrahigh sensitivity (≈20 kPa−1) and a low limit of detection (0.6 Pa), capable of sensing acoustic vibrations, subtle pulses, and tiny motions. The sensor in WCD mode can monitor the full‐range human motion from the subtle pulse to human gait during walking/jogging. Moreover, the sensor in CD mode exhibits high sensitivity (1420 MPa−1) and excellent linearity over the ultrahigh pressure range (greater than 20 MPa), and are able to detect the movement of a car and distinguish the embarkation/debarkation of an adult passenger. The underlying mechanisms for the three sensing modes have been clearly elucidated, respectively. These findings open up new possibilities to design flexible pressure sensors by harnessing wrinkling‐cracking architectures.

The practical significance of ferroelectric domains and various domain boundaries has been growing steadily in recent years. In this work, various domain structures were written with an electron beam through a thin aluminum film on a −Z cut of bulk lithium niobate. The use of relatively low accelerating voltages (5 and 10 kV) and the grounding of the surface metallization made it possible to write periodic structures (1D and 2D) on large areas with domain sizes ≤1 μm. Selective domain etching and AFM in contact mode were used to observe various domain shapes obtained in the experiments. An unusual feature of the submicron-sized domains was needle-like vertices. Importantly, the vertices of the domains were deepened relative to the irradiated surface. It was found that the size and proximity of the irradiated regions to each other in the patterns used can significantly change the upper part of the domains. The experimental data were analyzed and discussed taking into account the computer simulation of the spatial field distribution of injected electron beam charges. The obtained results contribute to the development of controlled writing of submicron-sized domain structures using an electron beam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The operating ambient of flexible electronics interconnects is a complex environment that includes mechanical deformation, electric current, and temperature. It is a potential threat to the long‐term service reliability of flexible electronic devices. This paper aims to develop a multiphysics fatigue model for flexible metal films. The effect of multiphysics fields is considered in the Coffin–Manson relationship based on reasonable simplification. The fatigue behavior of copper films of various thicknesses on a flexible substrate was investigated when electrical current and mechanical displacement loads were applied simultaneously. The developed model is validated to compare with experimental results. The numerical results show that it can analyze the effect of multiphysics fields and predict the fatigue life of copper films. Therefore, it could be a means to assess the fatigue performance of metal films on flexible substrates in multiphysics fields. Highlights: A FEM fatigue model for flexible metal films was developed in multiphysics fields.The electrothermal effect has little effect on the fatigue life of the thinner film.The electrothermal effect will change the initial position of the fatigue damage.As temperature rises exponentially, the fatigue life of thicker film decreases rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a hybrid ultra-thin planar subwavelength focusing structure consisting of a high refractive index dielectric grating and a nano metal film was designed. The thickness of this structure is only 200 nm. Surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) were excited from the nano metal film, propagated along the metal-air interface, and were then converted into a radiation field by the dielectric grating, forming a focused spot in free space. By adjusting the grating position and width parameters, the shape of the focused optical field could be controlled. The simulation results showed that, under 532 nm light irradiation, the lens could produce a 270 nm (full width at half-maximum, FWHM) spot size at a focal length of 2.46λ. Moreover, under the illumination of 633 nm and 780 nm light, the designed lenses were found to produce focal spot sizes of 304 nm (0.48λ) and 364 nm (0.47λ), respectively, which were smaller than the diffraction limit. The simplicity of this plasmonic lens design, coupled with its reduced thickness and minimal absorption loss, offered significant advantages in terms of cost-effectiveness and ease of fabrication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, which describe the fields of TE and TM polarized waves in metal films with allowance for the anomalous skin effect, are formulated. The equations can be solved numerically by the quadrature method. The electric fields in gold and aluminum films deposited on a silicon substrate and the angular dependences of the polarization angles of light reflected from these films are investigated. It is found that the solution of the inverse problem of multiangle ellipsometry of metal films within the approximation of the normal skin effect is characterized by the instability of the reconstructed complex refractive index of the metal with a change in the thickness of the metal film. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The process of ultra-thin single crystal gold film irradiated by femtosecond laser is simulated by the combination of improved two-temperature model (TTM) and molecular dynamics (MD). The results indicate that under the non-Fourier effect, the gold film shows special melting characteristics and spalling mechanism. The phenomena of homogeneous melting and pore spalling of gold film are successfully distinguished by curing rate method and atomic density method respectively. Due to the tiny thickness of the gold film studied, the damage mechanism of the gold film irradiated by laser has also changed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For cutting a SiC substrate coated with a metal film stably, a novel ductile-mode dicing process was developed using a blade made of a single body of poly-crystalline diamond (PCD) with only 50 μm in thickness. It is difficult for a conventional diamond blade with metal binder to cut the SiC substrate in a straight line accurately due to insufficient buckling strength. In addition, self-sharpening effect of the cutting edge is suppressed by adhesion of metal film to blade surface. In this study, a rake face and a flank face of the cutting edge were formed by irradiating pulsed laser light tangentially to the cutting edge. Under the high speed rotation condition of 30,000 rpm (500 s-1), the developed PCD blade acts on the workpiece with the continuous cutting edge in a stable posture due to the inertial force of the rotation, and the depth of cut per a cutting edge is about 5 nm. Under these conditions, the ultrafine cutting tip of the metal film also becomes on the order of nanometers. 4H-SiC substrate 350 μm in thickness with Au / Ni / Ti film was cut using the developed PCD blade. Under the half cut condition, there was no chipping or crack on the surface, and the bottom of the groove was finished in a mirror state. Under the full cut condition with a width of 50 μm, the SiC substrate and the metal film were cut at once, and any crack did not occur at the interface between SiC and the metal film. As the result, it was demonstrated that ductile mode machining was realized and the metal film did not adhere to the cutting edge.

In this study, we theoretically and experimentally investigated the perfect optical absorptance of a photonic heterostructure composed of a truncated all-dielectric photonic crystal (PC) and a thick metal film in the visible regions. The three simulated structures could achieve narrow-band perfect optical absorption at wavelengths of 500 nm, 600 nm, and 700 nm, respectively. Based on the measured experimental results, the three experimental structures achieved over 90% absorption at wavelengths of 489 nm, 604 nm, and 675 nm, respectively. The experimental results agreed well with the theoretical values. According to electromagnetic field intensity distributions at the absorption wavelengths, the physical mechanism of perfect absorption was derived from the optical Tamm state (OTS). The structure was simple, and the absorption characteristics were not significantly affected by the thickness of the thick metal layer, which creates convenience in the preparation of the structure. In general, the proposed perfect absorbers have exciting prospects in solar energy, optical sensor technology, and other related fields.

The substrate, metal film and heat dissipation zone of metal film igniting component were designed and analyzed. By theoretical analysis and experiment, alumina ceramics were identified as the substrate material, and nickel‐chromium alloy was used as metal film material. The metal film shape is V‐shaped notch. Its size is 1 mm×2.732 mm, the thickness of the metal film is 0.5 μm, and the notch angle is 60°. Deposited copper is used as heat dissipation zone for increasing heat dissipation. Test results show that the metal film igniting component satisfies the safety requests of no firing under the condition of 1A1W5 min. The firing time is about 500 μs at a current of 5 A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of low-intensity near ultraviolet irradiation and subsequent thermal annealing on the surface morphology of gold and silver granular films was investigated. It was found that exposure to light does not lead to immediate changes in the extinction spectra and the microstructure of the films. However, after annealing at a temperature of about 200°C, the difference between irradiated and non-irradiated areas becomes clearly visible both visually and in the extinction spectra of the island films. For the irradiated gold film, changes in the annealing process occur much more slowly than for the non-irradiated one. For silver films, the changes after annealing vary significantly depending on whether the film is irradiated in a vacuum or in air. From the optical extinction spectra and SEM images, it can be concluded that the conditions for the annealing-induced surface diffusion of metal atoms in the irradiated area change significantly, and these changes depend on the irradiation conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Featured Application: Possible ultra sensitive and effective solution in the fields of analytical chemistry and biosensorics. Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been intensely studied as a possible solution in the fields of analytical chemistry and biosensorics for decades. Substantial research has been devoted to engineering signal enhanced SERS-active substrates based on semi-continuous nanostructured silver and gold films, or agglomerates of micro- and nanoparticles in solution. Herein, we demonstrate the high-amplitude spectra of myoglobin precipitated out of ultra-low concentration solutions (below 10 μg/mL) using e-beam evaporated continuous self-assembled silver films. We observe up to 105 times Raman signal amplification with purposefully designed SERS-active substrates in comparison with the control samples. SERS-active substrates are obtained by electron beam evaporation of silver thin films with well controlled nanostructured surface morphology. The characteristic dimensions of the morphology elements vary in the range from several to tens of nanometers. Using optical confocal microscopy we demonstrate that proteins form a conformation on the surface of the self-assembled silver film, which results in an effective enhancement of giant Raman scattering signal. We investigate the various SERS substrates surface morphologies by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in combination with deep data analysis with Gwyddion software and a number of machine learning techniques. Based on these results, we identify the most significant film surface morphology patterns and evaporation recipe parameters to obtain the highest amplitude SERS spectra. Moreover, we demonstrate the possibility of automated selection of suitable morphological parameters to obtain the high-amplitude spectra. The developed AFM data auto-analysis procedures are used for smart optimization of SERS-active substrates nanoengineering processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In eddy current (EC) thickness measurements, the presence of the lift-off effect will significantly impact the measurement signal, leading to inaccuracies. It has been reported that the phase signal demonstrates a certain level of immunity to the lift-off effect compared to the amplitude signal, as its variation in response to lift-off is relatively less prominent. However, it should be noted that the phase is not entirely unaffected by the lift-off effect. In this paper, a linear relationship between the tangent of the phase angle and the lift-off has been found, termed the phase linear feature. Firstly, the phase linear feature was validated through theoretical derivations and experimental investigations. Subsequently, a new method of thickness measurement based on the fixed lift-off deviation was proposed by using this feature, and a corresponding double-coil sensor was also designed. Finally, to validate the proposed method, measurements of aluminum and copper films were carried out using the developed measurement system under different lift-off distances. The experimental results demonstrate that the measurement relative error of the proposed method remains within 5% in the 0–3 mm lift-off range. This indicates that the proposed method can provide accurate thickness measurements and is independent of the lift effect. Furthermore, the proposed method also has the advantages of single-frequency excitation, simplicity of the sensor, and straightforward relationship between features and thickness. Therefore, this study presents an effective solution for practical online thickness measurement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical potential and the work function of an aluminium metal film which is in the vacuum (1) and on a dielectric substrate (2) are obtained using the model of non-interacting electrons confined by an asymmetric rectangular potential well. For the first time, these two characteristics are calculated with correct taking into account the electroneutrality condition. As a result, the values of the chemical potential and the work function tend to their bulk values upon increasing the film thickness. The presence of a dielectric substrate leads to a small shift in the values of these characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract It is rather important to not only obtain the better detection efficiency for metal ions, but also investigate the change of sensitivity and detection limit in the simultaneous detection. Herein, a novel type of room temperature ion liquid (RTIL)/γ-AlOOH/Fe(OH) 3 composite was prepared. Both the individual and simultaneous determination of Hg(II) and Cu(II) were examined by the composite electrode. The electrode exhibited the lowest limits of detection (LODs) of 0.5 and 0.3 nM for Hg(II) and Cu(II) in simultaneous determination, the highest sensitivities of 64.5 and 65.9 μA/μM, respectively, and the shortest response time. Both Hg(II) and Cu(II) films electroplated on the surface of composite were used to further analyze change of sensitivity and LOD, respectively. The thickness of films influenced the sensitivity and LOD. The proposed electrode was also performed the analysis of soil sample. The analytic method in this study could open up an avenue for the analysis and detection of metal ions, and provide a reference of electrochemical sensor based on metal films. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical potential of a metal film within the jellium model taking into account the Coulomb interaction between electrons is calculated. The surface potential is modelled as the infinite rectangular potential well. The behaviour of the chemical potential as a function of the film thickness is studied, the quantum size effect for this quantity is analysed. It is shown that taking into account the Coulomb interaction leads to a significant decrease of the chemical potential and to an enhancement of the quantum size effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liquid meniscuses were prepared by spraying silicone oil drops with different sizes onto clean glass slides. Metal (iron) films with varied thicknesses were then deposited on the liquid meniscuses by direct current magnetron sputtering. The fracture and wrinkle behaviors of the films resulting from residual stresses are investigated in detail. It is found that cracks nucleate and propagate in the film during deposition owing to the thermal expansion of the liquid substrate. Subsequent cooling of the system creates a high compressive stress, resulting in the formation of various wrinkles in the film. The initiation and shape of the cracks are closely related to the film thickness and oil drop size. The wrinkle morphologies are dependent on the stress anisotropy induced by the liquid meniscus and crack edge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reflected and transmitted powers due to the interaction of electromagnetic waves with a structure containing thin metal and silicon layer are investigated in more detail. The formulations for the transverse electric wave case are provided. Transfer matrix method is used to find the reflection and the transmission coefficients at each interface. Numerical results are presented to show the effect of the structure parameters, the incidence angle and the wavelength on the reflected, transmitted and loss powers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spectral coloring glass and its application on the surface-enhanced Raman scattering are demonstrated experimentally via a simple and moderate heat-treating of the top ultrathin gold film to create discrete nanoparticles, which can produce localized surface plasmon resonances and strong plasmonic near-field coupling effects. Ultrathin metal films with a wide range of thicknesses are investigated by different heat-treatment processes. The annealed metal films have been demonstrated with a series of spectral coloring responses. Moreover, the microscopy images of the metal film structures confirm the formation of distinct geometry features in these operation procedures. Densely packed nanoparticles are observed for the ultrathin metal film with the single-digit level of thickness. With increasing the film thickness over 10 nm, metallic clusters and porous morphologies can be obtained. Importantly, the metallic resonators can provide enhanced Raman scattering with the detection limit down to 10-7 molL-1 of Rhodamine 6G molecules due to the excitation of plasmon resonances and strong near-field coupling effects. These features hold great potential for large-scale and low-cost production of colored glass and Raman substrate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A close-to-the-theoretically-largest TM resonant reflection of a free-space wave from a free-standing undulated gold layer immersed in a liquid host medium is demonstrated experimentally. It is mediated by the grating-excited long-range plasmon mode propagating along the continuous metal film with particularly low loss.

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has been intensely studied as a possible solution in the fields of analytical chemistry and biosensorics for decades. Substantial research has been devoted to engineering signal enhanced SERS-active substrates based on semi-continuous nanostructured silver and gold films, or agglomerates of micro- and nanoparticles in solution. Herein, we demonstrate the high-amplitude spectra of myoglobin precipitated out of ultra-low concentration solutions (below 10 μg/mL) using e-beam evaporated continuous self-assembled silver films. We observe up to 105 times Raman signal amplification with purposefully designed SERS-active substrates in comparison with the control samples. SERS-active substrates are obtained by electron beam evaporation of silver thin films with well controlled nanostructured surface morphology. The characteristic dimensions of the morphology elements vary in the range from several to tens of nanometers. Using optical confocal microscopy we demonstrate that proteins form a conformation on the surface of the self-assembled silver film, which results in an effective enhancement of giant Raman scattering signal. We investigate the various SERS substrates surface morphologies by means of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in combination with deep data analysis with Gwyddion software and a number of machine learning techniques. Based on these results, we identify the most significant film surface morphology patterns and evaporation recipe parameters to obtain the highest amplitude SERS spectra. Moreover, we demonstrate the possibility of automated selection of suitable morphological parameters to obtain the high-amplitude spectra. The developed AFM data auto-analysis procedures are used for smart optimization of SERS-active substrates nanoengineering processes.