Plasmonic Ga nanoparticle arrays for phase change memory

Already, novel applications have been demonstrated that rely on the unique optical and material properties of Ga nanoparticles (NPs): UV spectroscopy substrates for simultaneous fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman... [ view full abstract ]

Already, novel applications have been demonstrated that rely on the unique optical and material properties of Ga nanoparticles (NPs): UV spectroscopy substrates for simultaneous fluorescence and surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS), highly compact solid liquid phase change memory elements, phase transition nonlinear substrates, and graphene/plasmon nanocomposites. In this work, we demonstrate for the first time highly ordered spherical Ga NP arrays were fabricated by glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. GLAD is very simple, based on self-assembling, and can produce highly ordered one dimensional plasmonic NP chains. A collimated flux of ad-atoms is sent towards the stepped template surface at a glancing angle of incidence resulting in the formation of NP arrays. Optical evolution of Ga nanoparticle plasmon resonance during deposition has been characterized by in-situ real-time reflectance anisotropy spectroscopy. We have observed plasmonic resonance energy difference of Ga NPs at solid and liquid states. This phenomenon can be interesting to make highly compact solid-liquid phase change memory elements with information encoded in the structural phase. As well as, experimental results also reproduced by an analytical simulation.

This work has been supported by the Ministry of Education and Science of Kazakhstan under the research founding NU- Berkeley No. 0115РК03029