{"title":"Investigation of nonlinear optical properties in hybrid perovskite thin film modified by UiO-66-NH2 metal organic framework","authors":"Behnaz Tavakoli , Marzieh Nadafan , Zohreh Shadrokh , Nasim Kabir , Alireza Abbasi , Yaser Abdi","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117094","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117094","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines the linear and nonlinear optical (NLO) properties and thermo-optical aspects of CH<sub>3</sub>NH<sub>3</sub>PbI<sub>3</sub> (MAPbI<sub>3</sub>) and MAPbI<sub>3</sub> + MOF(UiO-66-NH<sub>2</sub>), a metal-organic framework (MOF) which are synthesized in the form of a thin layer and characterized by the Z-scan method in various incident powers. The incorporation of the MOF has resulted in increased grain size and crystallinity, while the improvement in both slow and fast decay lifetimes suggest a reduction the defects on the MAPbI<sub>3</sub> + MOF surface. The results obtained from the nonlinear behavior show the phenomenon self-focusing behavior and a substantial enhancement in MAPbI<sub>3</sub> + MOF thin films relative to MAPbI<sub>3</sub> films, primarily attributed to saturable absorption (SA). Furthermore, the parameters measured in the nonlinear refraction index (NLR, n<sub>2</sub>) and the nonlinear absorption coefficient (NLA, β) of the MAPbI<sub>3</sub> thin film increase with the incorporation of MOF and as the input laser power rises from 10 mW to 50 mW. The enhancement of laser intensity, coupled with the integration of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) within the perovskite material, has significantly improved the figure of merit (FOM) parameter. This study thus underscores the potential of using MAPbI<sub>3</sub> combined with UiO-66-NH<sub>2</sub> across a wide array of optoelectronic applications, including Q-switching, demonstrating exceptional NLO properties at reduced incident power levels.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 117094"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143906150","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-24DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.116853
Xiaoyu Zhang , Huabin Yang , Zihao Wu , Can Weng
{"title":"High-performance all-dielectric nano-gratings for advanced optical applications: Fabrication and characterization","authors":"Xiaoyu Zhang , Huabin Yang , Zihao Wu , Can Weng","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.116853","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.116853","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>All-dielectric nano-grating structures exhibit exceptional optical properties, combining robust material stability with precise wavelength modulation, positioning them as highly suitable for advanced optical applications. This study introduces Si<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>-based nano-gratings fabricated on polycarbonate (PC) substrates using an optimized injection molding process. The resulting gratings demonstrate superior optical performance, including high reflectivity (>85 %), narrowband spectral response (full-width at half-maximum, FWHM <10 nm), and minimal sideband reflection (<3 %). Finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) simulations guided the optimization of key structural parameters, revealing their critical effects on optical performance. Experimental validation confirmed the gratings' reproducibility of up to 98 % and high structural fidelity, achieved under optimized processing conditions. These findings highlight the scalability and versatility of the proposed fabrication process, making it a promising approach for producing high-performance optical components such as filters, sensors, and displays. The work underscores the application potential of all-dielectric nano-gratings in next-generation optoelectronic devices.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 116853"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877347","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-24DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117091
Yong Wei , Ziyan He , Chuang Yang , Jian Liu , Jiahong Jin , Liang Luo , Xiaodong Xu
{"title":"Enhanced mid-infrared luminescent properties of Ho,Re:CNGG (RePr, Eu, Tb) crystals co-doped with deactivating ions","authors":"Yong Wei , Ziyan He , Chuang Yang , Jian Liu , Jiahong Jin , Liang Luo , Xiaodong Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117091","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117091","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Crystals of 2 at.% Ho:CNGG co-doped with 0.2 at.% deactivating ions (Pr<sup>3+</sup>, Eu<sup>3+</sup>, Tb<sup>3+</sup>) were successfully grown using the micro-pulling-down (<em>μ</em>-PD) technique for the first time. Detailed investigations were conducted on absorption spectra, fluorescence spectra, and lifetime decay curves. The 2 at.% Ho, 0.2 at.% Pr:CNGG crystal exhibits a broad absorption band at 1142 nm, with full width at half maximum (FWHM) values of 88.5 nm. This crystal composition shows the most intense emission at 2860 nm, with FWHM of 181 nm. The luminescent lifetime ratio (<sup>5</sup>I<sub>6</sub>/<sup>5</sup>I<sub>7</sub>) and transition efficiencies of Ho,Pr:CNGG at approximately 3.0 μm are also the highest, measuring 0.107 and 70.48 % (0.105 and 69.96 % for Ho,Eu:CNGG, 0.090 and 65.08 % for Ho,Tb:CNGG). These results suggest that Pr<sup>3+</sup> demonstrates superior performance in mitigating self-termination and enhancing population inversion compared to the other deactivating ions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117091"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143876569","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-24DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117011
Mengfan Xu , Yang Li , Chenglong Li , Yiyuan Liu , Guangqing Li , Jiahui Xie , Wenxiang Mu , Zhitai Jia
{"title":"Optimization of oxygen flow rate toward high-quality ε-Ga2O3 thin films grown on sapphire substrates and solar-blind ultraviolet photodetectors","authors":"Mengfan Xu , Yang Li , Chenglong Li , Yiyuan Liu , Guangqing Li , Jiahui Xie , Wenxiang Mu , Zhitai Jia","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117011","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117011","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Orthorhombic phase <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> is crucial for the fabrication of high-sensitivity solar-blind ultraviolet (UV) photodetectors due to its ultra-wide bandgap. However, the narrow growth window of pure-phase <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> and unclear exploration of growth parameters, such as oxygen flow and temperature, make it challenging to prepare high-performance solar-blind photodetectors. In this study, we use mist chemical vapor deposition technique (mist-CVD) to fabricate high-quality pure-phase <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin films on <em>c</em>-plane sapphire substrates. The metal-semiconductor-metal (MSM) solar-blind photodetectors fabricated on <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin films exhibiting excellent performance. Firstly, temperature optimization revealed a pure crystalline phase window between 540 °C and 640 °C, with films grown at 580 °C exhibiting the best crystalline quality. Subsequently, at 580 °C, regulating the oxygen flow rate reduced the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (002) rocking curve from 0.59° to 0.46°, indicating increased crystallinity due to compensation of oxygen vacancies (Vo). The root-mean-square (RMS) roughness of the <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin film is as low as 3.31 nm. Based on the optimized films, high-performance MSM solar-blind photodetectors were fabricated, exhibiting a dark current as low as 2.11 × 10<sup>−11</sup> A, a responsivity as high as 4.53 A/W, and a detectivity of 8.73 × 10<sup>13</sup> Jones. This work establishes a systematic framework for the oxygen flow optimization in devices performance and proposes a Vo mechanism to explain this phenomenon, providing valuable insights for fabricating <em>ε</em>-Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub> thin films and achieving high-performance solar-blind detection applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117011"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879013","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-24DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117082
Faisal Munir , Iqbal Hussain , Muhammad Usman , Usman Javed , Sajib Hasan Bhuyan , Muhammad Waqas Usmani , Faisal Nadeem , Peng Li , Huanrong Fan , Yanpeng Zhang
{"title":"Interaction and self-dressing bistability controlled by two dressing quantization in Eu3+: BiPO4 and Eu3+: NaYF4","authors":"Faisal Munir , Iqbal Hussain , Muhammad Usman , Usman Javed , Sajib Hasan Bhuyan , Muhammad Waqas Usmani , Faisal Nadeem , Peng Li , Huanrong Fan , Yanpeng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117082","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117082","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We report that interaction and self-dressing bistability is controlled by two dressing quantization in Eu<sup>3+</sup>: BiPO<sub>4</sub> and Eu<sup>3+</sup>: NaYF<sub>4</sub>. We demonstrate the controllability of two-laser dressing interactions in both the time and spectral domains through perturbation phase, phonon phase, and the two dressing phases. The destructive and constructive dressing spectral profile interactions are observed in fluorescence (FL) and spontaneous four-wave mixing region (SFWM). The evolution from strong to weak destructive/constructive dressing spectral profile interactions is controlled by the time gate width and time gate position. Two lasers strong temporal Autler-Townes (AT) splitting profile interaction comes from dressing induced destructive quantization. The photon-phonon dressing lead to one laser and two lasers constructive/destructive profile interaction. A broadband laser dressing results in a broad dip due to destructive interactions, while narrowband laser dressing produces a broad peak due to constructive interactions. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the bistability of two lasers arises from differences in the density of states in the AT region, attributable to symmetric self-dressing and additional quantization. These findings have potential applications in optical devices and quantum information processing.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117082"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143881380","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-23DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117087
Primavera López-Salazar , Gabriel Juárez–Díaz , José Luis Sosa-Sánchez , Joel Díaz-Reyes , Ana Guadalupe Martínez-Morales
{"title":"Effect of selenium doping on the deposition and properties of cadmium sulfide thin films grown by a chemical bath deposition technique","authors":"Primavera López-Salazar , Gabriel Juárez–Díaz , José Luis Sosa-Sánchez , Joel Díaz-Reyes , Ana Guadalupe Martínez-Morales","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117087","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117087","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The present study highlights the changes in various physical properties of cadmium sulfide (CdS) thin films induced by doping with the chalcogenide ion Se. The films were obtained by a chemical bath deposition technique at low temperature, good quality thin films were synthesized, with the advantage of doping in-synthesis without the need for additional step. The structural analysis was carried out using grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, revealing that the incorporation of selenium led to the formation of two crystalline phases of CdS and CdSe, and a decrease in their crystallite size. The transmittance spectrum shows that the added selenium shifts the transmission region to higher wavelengths and reduces the transmittance. The films composition was determined by wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence, revealing a lower fraction of selenium in the films than in the bath solution. By the oscillations in transmittance the film thicknesses were estimated, and it was found that they are reduced by the incorporation of selenium, this is in accordance with the decrease of the intensity of the X-ray diffraction and X-ray fluorescence peaks. The photoluminescence study shows that the higher energy emissions (close to 2.0 and 2.2 eV) are reduced and eliminated with the incorporation of Se into the material. This is attributed to shallow electron traps induced by the metal ion selenium. The characterization of the films indicates that incorporating selenourea into the chemical bath, using the specified working conditions, modifies the film deposition process and results in a red-shift of the absorption region.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117087"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143873264","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-23DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117086
Warut Chewpraditkul , Kriangkrai Wantong , Weerapong Chewpraditkul , Romana Kucerkova , Alena Beitlerova , Dita Strachotova , Martin Nikl , Miroslav Kucera
{"title":"Temperature-dependent photoluminescence kinetics, photo- and radio-luminescence, and scintillation properties of Y1.75Gd1.25Al2.8Ga2.2O12:Ce,Mo (Mo = 0, 40, 100, 200 ppm) single-crystalline films","authors":"Warut Chewpraditkul , Kriangkrai Wantong , Weerapong Chewpraditkul , Romana Kucerkova , Alena Beitlerova , Dita Strachotova , Martin Nikl , Miroslav Kucera","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117086","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117086","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Photo- and radio-luminescence and scintillation properties of Y<sub>1.75</sub>Gd<sub>1.25</sub>Al<sub>2.8</sub>Ga<sub>2.2</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce,Mo (Mo = 0, 40, 100, 200 ppm) single-crystalline films grown by the isothermal liquid phase epitaxy technique and microcrystalline powders (Mo = 0 and 600 ppm) were investigated. The onset temperature at 375 K for luminescence quenching was determined from the temperature-dependent photoluminescence kinetics. Under excitation with 5.5 MeV α particles, the Y<sub>1.75</sub>Gd<sub>1.25</sub>Al<sub>3</sub>Ga<sub>2</sub>O<sub>12</sub>:Ce<strong>,</strong>Mo40 exhibited the highest light yield of 8900 photons/MeV and energy resolution of 4.8 % along with scintillation decay times of 115 ns (20.3 %) + 967 ns (29.9 %) + 2825 (49.8 %).</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"165 ","pages":"Article 117086"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143934974","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Structure regulation induced novel narrow-band blue light-emitting Eu2+-Activated nitroaluminosilicate phosphor for WLEDs and FEDs applications","authors":"Quansheng Wu , Yuanmin Zhang , Jingjing Chen , Chunxiang Chen , Faliang Cao , Weijian Wang , Xubo Zhu , Jiasheng Zeng , Jianyan Ding","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117085","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117085","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Developing novel narrow-band light-emitting phosphors remains a critical area of research, particularly for nitride-based materials, which are regarded as promising host for phosphor. In this study, a narrow-band blue light emission was achieved in Eu<sup>2+</sup>-activated nitroaluminosilicate MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> through structural optimization of the AlON-related phase Al<sub>6</sub>O<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>. Mg<sup>2+</sup> ions were incorporated into the host lattice to partially substitute for Al<sup>3+</sup> ions, while co-doped Si<sup>4+</sup> ions were utilized to maintain charge neutrality. Leveraging the high reactivity of MgO, MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> was successfully synthesized under relatively mild conditions, in contrast to the initial phase of Al<sub>6</sub>O<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>. Furthermore, through structural optimization, Eu<sup>2+</sup>-activated MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> exhibits remarkable photoluminescence and cathodoluminescence performance. When excited by near-ultraviolet light, MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub>:Eu<sup>2+</sup> emits intense narrow-band blue light, characterized by a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 0.338 eV. The material exhibits an internal quantum efficiency as high as 74 %. The structure-property relationship of Eu<sup>2+</sup> in MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> was systematically investigated in this study, elucidating the photoluminescence characteristics of Eu<sup>2+</sup> ions within the MgAl<sub>4</sub>SiO<sub>3</sub>N<sub>4</sub> host. The results may establish an efficient pathway for exploring more promising silicate- or aluminum nitride-based narrow-band light-emitting phosphors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117085"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143877346","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-23DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117084
Wei Gao, Zihan Chen, Lu Zhang, Guoxian Gu, Wenjun Zhang
{"title":"Bimetallic Ln(III)-MOF (Ln = Gd, Tb) with excitation wavelength-dependent luminescence properties for advanced anti-counterfeiting","authors":"Wei Gao, Zihan Chen, Lu Zhang, Guoxian Gu, Wenjun Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117084","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117084","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>To develop advanced anti-counterfeiting materials with multi-mode emission is interesting. In this study, a series of lanthanide bimetallic organic frameworks, Gd<sub>1-x</sub>Tb<sub>x</sub>-BPTA (x = 0.001–0.03), were prepared via solvothermal methods. These materials can achieve color tunability by adjusting the proportion of lanthanide metals. Notably, Gd<sub>1-x</sub>Tb<sub>x</sub>-BPTA (x = 0.001, 0.002) exhibits wavelength-dependent luminescence, emitting bright green emission at 254 nm UV irradiation and blue emission at 365 nm UV irradiation. Additionally, their luminescence shows negligible degradation after prolonged ambient exposure, highlighting the material's potential applications in anti-counterfeiting technologies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117084"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143870756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Optical MaterialsPub Date : 2025-04-23DOI: 10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117083
Francisco A. Amador , J.G. Medrano , Joaquín Raboño-Borbolla , Orlando Cortazar-Martínez , Alberto Herrera-Gómez , Marco Antonio Vazquez-Delgado , Francisco J. Flores-Ruiz
{"title":"Dielectric function from ellipsometry measurements of niobium films","authors":"Francisco A. Amador , J.G. Medrano , Joaquín Raboño-Borbolla , Orlando Cortazar-Martínez , Alberto Herrera-Gómez , Marco Antonio Vazquez-Delgado , Francisco J. Flores-Ruiz","doi":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117083","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.optmat.2025.117083","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Niobium is a promising material for high-temperature photonic applications due to its high melting point and chemical stability. Despite this, there is insufficient information about its dielectric function as a function of thickness. In this study, the thickness-dependent dielectric function of niobium films (8, 38, and 283)-nm-thick deposited by sputtering was analyzed with an oxide/film/substrate model over a range of 0.7 eV–4.5 eV. Notably, our films were deposited to have an oxide-free bulk ensuring that the optical properties reflect clean niobium with surface oxide. The Drude model was applied to describe the intraband transitions, while Lorentz oscillators were used for interband transtions. As expected for metals, the real part of the dielectric function was negative for 283 nm-thick films with a slight reduction in magnitude for 38 nm-thick films. However, it became positive for the thinnest film, which was attributed to crossing the percolation threshold, where metal islands touch each other forming conductive paths but with gaps still not covered. The imaginary part of the dielectric function shows nonsystematic variations with changes in thickness, attributed to morphological changes in-plane and out-of-plane of the films, affecting the surface distribution of electron density and electron scattering rate. Dielectric properties show good agreement with the electrical resistivity from Van der Pauw measurements and conductivity maps from scanning tunneling microscopy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":19564,"journal":{"name":"Optical Materials","volume":"164 ","pages":"Article 117083"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2025-04-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143879114","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"材料科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}