Asian Journal of Physics Vol. 35, Nos 4 – 6 (2026) 181-188

Size-dependent plasmon-enhanced UV luminescent Au-Ge nanoparticles synthesized from bilayer thin films

Kalyan Ghosh, Ashutosh Nayak, Aiswarya Rath, Abhisek Sahoo, and Pratap K Sahoo
School of Physical Sciences, National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar,

An OCC of Homi Bhabha National Institute, Jatni-752 050 Odisha, India

The morphological transformation of continuous bilayer thin films of Ge/Au on Si substrates from an interconnected network to droplets or alloy nanoparticles has been observed through elevated thermal dewetting by interfacial energy reduction. The structural and compositional analyses reveal the composite nature of the alloy nanodots, comprising Au and Ge. With dewetting temperature from 350-900oC, the size of the nanodots varies from about 20 nm – 200 nm in diameter. The absorption spectra reveal that the ratio of Au and Ge number density is directly related to the plasmon peak of Au. The UV-visible luminescence upon UV excitation of 266 nm shows a proportional correlation with the nanodot size and absorption spectra. The growth mechanism of such alloy nanoparticles can be understood in terms of dewetting of the metal layer under thermal treatment. The study indicates a route towards understanding the single-step synthesis of alloy nanodots of metal-semiconductor on an insulator/semiconducting surface. © Anita Publications. All rights reserved.
Doi: XXX
Keywords: Dewetting, Photoluminescence, Alloy nanoparticle, Plasmonics.

Peer Review Information
Method: Single- anonymous; Screened for Plagiarism? Yes
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