Nanocomposite–parylene C thin films with high dielectric constant and low losses for future organic electronic devices

• Marwa Mokni,
• Gianluigi Maggioni,
• Abdelkader Kahouli,
• Sara M. Carturan,
• Walter Raniero and
• Alain Sylvestre

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 428–441, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.42

• with various contents and sizes of silver-oxide nanoparticles were investigated by broadband dielectric spectroscopy (BDS) in view of their final application. It was found that both the content and the size of the nanoparticles influence the value of the dielectric constant and the frequency-dependence

• of the permittivity. In particular, β-relaxation is affected by the addition of nanoparticles as well as the dissipation factor, which is even improved. A dielectric constant of 5 ± 1 with a dissipation factor of less than 0.045 in the range from 0.1 Hz to 1 MHz is obtained for a 2.7 µm thick NCPC

• with 3.8% Ag content. This study provides guidance for future NCPC materials for insulating gates in organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and advanced electronic applications. Keywords: dielectric; nanocomposite polymer; organic field-effect transistor; parylene C; silver-containing nanoparticle

Advanced scanning probe lithography using anatase-to-rutile transition to create localized TiO₂ nanorods

• Julian Kalb,
• Vanessa Knittel and
• Lukas Schmidt-Mende

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 412–418, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.40

• . This is related to the high refractive index of TiO2, the size of the nanorods, and the dielectric antenna effect of the stringed nanorods [46]. To test the reliability of the presented method, the writing process was repeated with several probes. The spring constant is different for each probe even if

Electromagnetic analysis of the lasing thresholds of hybrid plasmon modes of a silver tube nanolaser with active core and active shell

• Denys M. Natarov,
• Trevor M. Benson and
• Alexander I. Nosich

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 294–304, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.28

• –dielectric interfaces or thin metal layers, and their standing-wave counterparts, localized surface plasmon (LSP) modes on metal particles and wires of deeply sub-wavelength (sub-λ) size. This phenomenon occurs due to the specific properties of the complex dielectric functions of metals in the optical range

• εmet(λ) = −εhost where εhost > 0 is the relative dielectric permittivity of the host medium – see [1][2] for details. If the host medium is air, then the corresponding wavelength is found in the ultraviolet range for silver and in the green range for gold where the bulk losses in metals are

• modes. Note also that there exist other LEP-like formulations aimed at the extraction of mode threshold [28][29][30][31][32]; some of them differ from LEP only by the choice of the material-gain parameter, which can be the imaginary part of the dielectric permittivity (because Im εa = 2αγ, where α is

Magnetic-field sensor with self-reference characteristic based on a magnetic fluid and independent plasmonic dual resonances

• Kun Ren,
• Xiaobin Ren,
• Yumeng He and
• Qun Han

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 247–255, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.23

• , Tianjin 300222, China 10.3762/bjnano.10.23 Abstract A magnetic-field sensor with self-reference characteristic based on metal–dielectric–metal (MDM) plasmonic waveguides and a magnetic fluid (MF) is proposed and theoretically investigated. Independent dual resonances are supported by the coupled

• fabrication and compactness. In recent years, compact optical devices based on surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) have been reported. SPPs propagate along the dielectric–metal interface with the amplitudes decaying exponentially into both sides [16]. The deep subwavelength confinement of SPPs leads to the

• development of various integrated photonic components, such as filters [17], modulators [18], interferometers [19], optical switches [20] and nanosensors [21][22]. As important plasmonic structures, metal–dielectric–metal (MDM) waveguides have attracted considerable attention. Various kinds of plasmonic

Interaction of Te and Se interlayers with Ag or Au nanofilms in sandwich structures

• Arkadiusz Ciesielski,
• Lukasz Skowronski,
• Marek Trzcinski,
• Ewa Górecka,
• Wojciech Pacuski and
• Tomasz Szoplik

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 238–246, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.22

• basically the middle of the sample (and thus the depth where 2 nm of Te was deposited), as well as no concentration of Te at any metal/dielectric interface indicates that tellurium did not segregate nor diffuse into the gold film. In case of the silver sandwich, however, a noticeable concentration of Te can

• the Ag layer grown on Ge [26], Te segregates towards both Ag/dielectric interfaces. This is probably due to the fact that in a sandwich-like sample, Ge is surrounded by two different Ag layers – the one below it has flat density profile, while the one on top has a gradient density profile. This

• deposition of the samples in the UV–vis–mid-IR spectral range (0.06–6.5 eV) for three angles of incidence (65°, 70° and 75°) using two instruments: V-VASE (J.A.Woollam Co., Inc.) in the UV–vis–NIR and Sendira (Sentech GmbH) in the mid-IR. The complex dielectric function of effective Ag layers with segregated

Scanning probe microscopy for energy-related materials

• Rüdiger Berger,
• Benjamin Grévin,
• Philippe Leclère and
• Yi Zhang

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 132–134, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.12

• relationship between Li-ion conductivity and the microstructure of the solid-state electrolyte lithium aluminum titanium phosphate films [10]. Furthermore, dielectric properties play a role for the storage of electrochemical energy. Ying Wang and co-workers report on a novel method for the characterization of

• the local dielectric distribution based on surface adhesion mapping by SPM [11]. This method is evidently easy in terms of operation and thus has the potential to be widely used. Finally, we want to highlight the contribution “Electrostatic force spectroscopy revealing the degree of reduction of

Threshold voltage decrease in a thermotropic nematic liquid crystal doped with graphene oxide flakes

• Mateusz Mrukiewicz,
• Krystian Kowiorski,
• Paweł Perkowski,
• Rafał Mazur and
• Małgorzata Djas

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2019, 10, 71–78, doi:10.3762/bjnano.10.7

• dielectric spectroscopy measurements. The effect is related to the disrupted planar alignment due to the strong π–π stacking between the 5CB’s benzene rings and the graphene oxide’s structure. Additionally, we present the GO concentration dependence on the isotropic–nematic phase transition temperature

• oscilloscope (Tektronix TDS 2014) was used to register the electro-optical response. The duration of the driving pulse was 1 s. Dielectric spectroscopy (DS) studies were performed using an impedance analyzer (Agilent 4294A) and conducted over a broad frequency range from 100 Hz to 10 MHz, with the oscillation

• 0.1 wt %, the GO flakes disturb the formation of the nematic phase. In this experiment, the Frédericksz transition was induced by the electric field. The threshold voltage dependence on the GO concentration in 5CB was investigated by two methods: an electro-optic (EO) and dielectric spectroscopy (DS

A novel polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxane-modified layered double hydroxide: preparation, characterization and properties

• Xianwei Zhang,
• Zhongzhu Ma,
• Hong Fan,
• Carla Bittencourt,
• Jintao Wan and
• Philippe Dubois

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 3053–3068, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.284

• controlled manner, making POSS a class of promising nanoscale building blocks for advanced functional nanomaterials [22][23][24]. Besides, the unique inorganic–organic architecture also endows POSS with low dielectric constant, high thermal and oxidation resistance [23][25]. And unlike traditional organic

Electrostatic force microscopy for the accurate characterization of interphases in nanocomposites

• Diana El Khoury,
• Richard Arinero,
• Jean-Charles Laurentie,
• Mikhaël Bechelany,
• Michel Ramonda and
• Jérôme Castellon

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2999–3012, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.279

• deduced by comparison of experimental data and numerical simulations, as well as the interface state of silicone dioxide layers. Keywords: atomic force microscopy; building-block materials; dielectric permittivity; electrostatic force microscopy; finite element simulation; interphases; nanocomposites

• ; Introduction Composite nanomaterials (often referred to as “nanodielectrics” by the dielectrics community) can be synthesized by including dielectric nanoparticles in a polymeric matrix and are often used as insulating material [1][2][3]. Although the mechanical and thermal behavior of the base insulating

• polymer can be enhanced by microcomposites, its electrical performance is usually degraded [4][5]. On the other hand, the incorporation of nanofillers (1–10 wt %) into these polymers improves the dielectric properties of the resulting material, while meeting the thermal, mechanical and cost requirements

Colloidal chemistry with patchy silica nanoparticles

• Pierre-Etienne Rouet,
• Cyril Chomette,
• Laurent Adumeau,
• Etienne Duguet and
• Serge Ravaine

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2989–2998, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.278

• samples was measured once again and the zeta potential values were measured using the Malvern Zetasizer 3000 HS setup (Malvern Instruments). Each measurement was performed for 30 s, the dielectric constant of solvent (water) was set to 80.4 and the Smoluchowsky factor f(κa) was 1.5. Synthesis of the CMs

Investigation of CVD graphene as-grown on Cu foil using simultaneous scanning tunneling/atomic force microscopy

• Majid Fazeli Jadidi,
• Umut Kamber,
• Oğuzhan Gürlü and
• H. Özgür Özer

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2953–2959, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.274

• temperature, the Ar flow was stopped and the H2 flow was reduced while CH4 was let in to the quartz tube as the carbon source. As-grown samples, as well as graphene crsytals transferred on to dielectric substrates were investigated by optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Raman spectra

In situ characterization of nanoscale contaminations adsorbed in air using atomic force microscopy

• Jesús S. Lacasa,
• Lisa Almonte and
• Jaime Colchero

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2925–2935, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.271

• function of tip–sample voltage and tip–sample distance, we are able to determine the contact potential, the Hamaker constant and the effective thickness of the dielectric layer within the tip–sample system. All these properties depend strongly on the contamination within the tip–sample system. We propose

• and that on each metallic surface a thin dielectric film may be adsorbed. In addition, we will assume that the (second derivative of) tip–sample capacitance (see Equation 3) can be approximated by the expression C″(d) = πε0R/(d + h/ε)2, where R is the effective tip radius, d is the tip–sample distance

• , h is the total thickness of the dielectric films on tip and sample, ε0 is the dielectric permittivity of vacuum and ε is the relative dielectric constant [43][44][45][46]. For a purely metallic system in air or vacuum were no dielectric layer is present (h = 0), the expression simplifies to C″(d

Time-resolved universal temperature measurements using NaYF₄:Er³⁺,Yb³⁺ upconverting nanoparticles in an electrospray jet

• Kristina Shrestha,
• Arwa A. Alaulamie,
• Ali Rafiei Miandashti and
• Hugh H. Richardson

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2916–2924, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.270

• slope value of −1182 ± 8.0 K and the intercept is 3.002 ± 0.021. The selection of the peak range is important for an accurate calculation of temperature. Changes in peak shape with external factors such as intensity, excitation time, and surrounding dielectric conditions [36] will corrupt the

Controlling surface morphology and sensitivity of granular and porous silver films for surface-enhanced Raman scattering, SERS

• Sherif Okeil and
• Jörg J. Schneider

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2813–2831, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.263

• the SERS activity can deteriorate due to surface oxidation of the silver surface [88]. For increasing the long-term stability of SERS active silver films we have studied a thin layer of dielectric Al2O3 as protective coating [89]. A 1 nm thick Al2O3 film was deposited on top of the nanoporous silver

Contactless photomagnetoelectric investigations of 2D semiconductors

• Marian Nowak,
• Marcin Jesionek,
• Barbara Solecka,
• Piotr Szperlich,
• Piotr Duka and
• Anna Starczewska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2741–2749, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.256

• ] (ε0ε/we)Vg, where ε0 and ε are the permittivity of free space and the used dielectric, respectively; e is the electron charge; and w is the thickness of the dielectric. The authors of [35] provided the theoretical description of the current compact model of graphene field-effect transistors. In our

Silencing the second harmonic generation from plasmonic nanodimers: A comprehensive discussion

• Jérémy Butet,
• Gabriel D. Bernasconi and
• Olivier J. F. Martin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2674–2683, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.250

• refractive index n = 1.33, corresponding to water. The dielectric constants of gold are taken from experimental data at both the fundamental and second harmonic wavelengths [25]. For the SHG computations, the linear surface currents are used for the evaluation of the fundamental electric fields just below

• imaginary part of the dielectric constant of gold is constant and does not modify the losses at the SH wavelength. Figure 3 shows the maximal SHG induced by the resonant excitation of the bonding dipolar mode at the fundamental wavelength for gaps ranging from 5 nm to 400 nm. For the largest gaps, the

Two-dimensional semiconductors pave the way towards dopant-based quantum computing

• José Carlos Abadillo-Uriel,
• Belita Koiller and
• María José Calderón

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2668–2673, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.249

• meff and the dielectric screening ε of the host materials. In atomic units, the binding energy in 2D is larger than in 3D for particular values meff and ε. Defining the effective Rydberg constant as the binding energy of the electron bound to a single dopant in 3D is while in 2D it is . Similarly

• materials may vary and eventually be tuned by an electric field, for instance, in the case of buckled silicene and germanene [31]. There is much less information on the dielectric screening of 2D materials, which also depends on the substrate and environment. It has been calculated only for a few cases (for

• instance, MoS2[32] or h-BN [33]) and the experimentally reported values lie in a wide range [32]. Typically, the dielectric constant of monolayer materials is expected to be smaller than their 3D counterparts, as their screening capabilities are reduced at low dimensionality [29][33]. All this variability

Nanoantenna structures for the detection of phonons in nanocrystals

• Alexander G. Milekhin,
• Sergei A. Kuznetsov,
• Ilya A. Milekhin,
• Larisa L. Sveshnikova,
• Tatyana A. Duda,
• Ekaterina E. Rodyakina,
• Alexander V. Latyshev,
• Volodymyr M. Dzhagan and
• Dietrich R. T. Zahn

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2646–2656, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.246

• the incident electromagnetic waves once their wavelength coincides with the doubled antenna length [36]. This coupling also depends on the dielectric function of the surrounding medium that causes an increase in the LSPR energy when a thin SiO2 layer (with a thickness of 0.5–100 nm) is introduced

• NC monolayers, their intensity increase entails a high frequency shift of the LSPR minima, which is more pronounced for H-shaped nanoantennas (Figure 8c and 8d). This shift occurs due to the change in dielectric function of the medium surrounding the nanoantennas. At a relatively thick CdSe NC

Impact of the anodization time on the photocatalytic activity of TiO₂ nanotubes

• Jesús A. Díaz-Real,
• Geyla C. Dubed-Bandomo,
• Juan Galindo-de-la-Rosa,
• Luis G. Arriaga,
• Janet Ledesma-García and
• Nicolas Alonso-Vante

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2628–2643, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.244

• dielectric constant of the material. From the CV curves, an increase in the capacitive current was observed towards lower potential values, which is typical for a transition to the accumulation region of n-type semiconductors. The calculated values for Eg and ND are summarized in Table 3, and compared to the

Enhancement of X-ray emission from nanocolloidal gold suspensions under double-pulse excitation

• Wei-Hung Hsu,
• Frances Camille P. Masim,
• Armandas Balčytis,
• Hsin-Hui Huang,
• Tetsu Yonezawa,
• Aleksandr A. Kuchmizhak,
• Saulius Juodkazis and
• Koji Hatanaka

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2609–2617, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.242

• [26], respectively. Theory: Epsilon-Near-Zero (ENZ)-Material A strong generation of X-rays is related to a large amount of absorbed energy and a high temperature [3][4]. In terms of relative permittivity (dielectric constant), εr, a transparent medium (water) with colloidal gold nanoparticles

• represents an effective medium with an overall positive real part of the permittivity. Upon excitation, the material is approaching dielectric breakdown and a state of εr ≈ 0 (epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) state; ). Under the ENZ condition, the strongest absorption takes place [36][37]: Here, εi is the intrinsic

• be calculated from the consideration that all absorbed energy density is converted to thermal energy of electrons. It can be calculated from the ablation threshold expression of a dielectric [37]: where ls = c/(κω) is the skin depth related to the imaginary part of the refractive index , c is the

Au–Si plasmonic platforms: synthesis, structure and FDTD simulations

• Anna Gapska,
• Marcin Łapiński,
• Paweł Syty,
• Wojciech Sadowski,
• Józef E. Sienkiewicz and
• Barbara Kościelska

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2599–2608, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.241

• polarized light waves, then the results were averaged to obtain the non-polarized wave for which all results are presented. While solving the Maxwell equations through FDTD calculations, the complex dielectric function plays a crucial role as it describes dispersion in both metal and dielectric layers in

• the simulated systems. For metals in an oscillating external field, this function depends on the oscillation frequency, and its proper modeling is a very important step in the simulation process. In our case, the dielectric functions of gold [26] and silicon [27] were fitted to the Lorentz model [28

Directional light beams by design from electrically driven elliptical slit antennas

• Shuiyan Cao,
• Eric Le Moal,
• Quanbo Jiang,
• Aurélien Drezet,
• Serge Huant,
• Jean-Paul Hugonin,
• Gérald Dujardin and
• Elizabeth Boer-Duchemin

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2361–2371, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.221

• , bull’s-eye, nanoparticle dimer, or wire antennas), coupled in the near field (or incorporating in their design) an electrically driven nanosource of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs, light waves coupled to electron density oscillations at a metal–dielectric interface). In particular, the electrical SPP

Metal–dielectric hybrid nanoantennas for efficient frequency conversion at the anapole mode

• Valerio F. Gili,
• Lavinia Ghirardini,
• Davide Rocco,
• Giuseppe Marino,
• Ivan Favero,
• Iännis Roland,
• Giovanni Pellegrini,
• Lamberto Duò,
• Marco Finazzi,
• Luca Carletti,
• Andrea Locatelli,
• Aristide Lemaître,
• Dragomir Neshev,
• Costantino De Angelis,
• Giuseppe Leo and
• Michele Celebrano

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2306–2314, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.215

• Centre de Nanosciences et de Nanotechnologies, CNRS-UMR9001, Route de Nozay, 91460 Marcoussis, France Nonlinear Physics Centre, Research School of Physics and Engineering, Australian National University, 2601 ACT Canberra, Australia 10.3762/bjnano.9.215 Abstract Background: Dielectric nanoantennas have

• antenna based on an AlGaAs nanopillar surrounded by a gold ring, which merges in a single platform the strong field confinement typically produced by plasmonic antennas with the high nonlinearity and low loss characteristics of dielectric nanoantennas. This platform allows enhancing the coupling of light

• dielectric materials the electric field penetrates deeply into the volume [16], the exploitation of large bulk nonlinearities also enables enhanced nonlinear light–matter interactions at the nanoscale. Third-harmonic generation (THG) was the first nonlinear effect observed in nanoscale semiconductors with

Intrinsic ultrasmall nanoscale silicon turns n-/p-type with SiO₂/Si₃N₄-coating

• Dirk König,
• Daniel Hiller,
• Noël Wilck,
• Birger Berghoff,
• Merlin Müller,
• Sangeeta Thakur,
• Giovanni Di Santo,
• Luca Petaccia,
• Joachim Mayer,
• Sean Smith and
• Joachim Knoch

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2255–2264, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.210

• , Si modulation doping of adjacent dielectric layers based on nitrides [11] and oxides [12], in analogy to modulation doping of III–V semiconductors, were shown to be an alternative to conventional impurity doping. It would be ideal to achieve electron- (n-) or hole- (p-) type conductivity in usn-Si

• ) approach. Following an explanation of the theoretical and experimental methods used, we turn to results for Si-NCs obtained from h-DFT. Here, we focus on the electronic structure of Si-NCs as a function of the embedding dielectric and its thickness of up to 3 monolayers (MLs). The latter dependence

• requires the use of NCs to keep the h-DFT computation effort practicable; NWires with more than 1 ML dielectric embedding are beyond the feasible computation effort at the level of accuracy we use. As an ultimate theoretical test, we present h-DFT results of two Si-NCs, one embedded in SiO2 and the other

Filling nanopipettes with apertures smaller than 50 nm: dynamic microdistillation

• Evelyne Salançon and
• Bernard Tinland

Beilstein J. Nanotechnol. 2018, 9, 2181–2187, doi:10.3762/bjnano.9.204

• . Results and Discussion Quartz capillaries, being of pure silica, have certain intrinsic properties (low dielectric constant, low loss factor, high volume resistivity, strength and chemical purity) that make them appropriate for the reproducible electrical measurements described below. Notably, they