Quantitative Analysis of Extinction Coefficients of Tin-Doped Indium Oxide Nanocrystal Ensembles

The optical extinction coefficients of localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) in doped semiconductor nanocrystals (NCs) have intensities determined by the density and damping mechanisms of free charge carriers. We investigate the dependence of the extinction coefficient of tin-doped indium oxide (ITO) NCs on size and dopant concentration and find extinction coefficients as high as 56.6 μm^-1 in the near-infrared for 20 nm diameter ITO NCs with 7.5 atomic% Sn. We find ITO NCs to be more efficient infrared light absorbers than metal nanoparticles or molecular dyes. We also find the intensive, volume-normalized extinction coefficient increases significantly with NC doping and NC diameter, but only up to the point of saturation in both cases. We qualitatively analyze trends in LSPR peak position and width to explain the effect of doping and size on extinction.