Gallium-doped zinc oxide semiconductor nanoparticles for plasmonic applications: a combined experimental and...

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Nanotechnology
• Solid State Physics

Background:

• Zinc oxide (ZnO) is a semiconductor with potential for plasmonic applications.
• Doping ZnO can tune its electronic and optical properties.
• Gallium doping (GZO) is explored for enhanced plasmonic resonance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize gallium-doped zinc oxide (GZO) nanoparticles via sol-gel.
• To investigate the structural, optical, and plasmonic properties of GZO.
• To explore the potential of GZO for advanced plasmonic and optoelectronic applications.

Main Methods:

• Sol-gel synthesis followed by thermal treatment.
• Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) for structural and morphological analysis.
• Dielectric function analysis and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS).
• First-principles density functional theory (DFT) calculations.

Main Results:

• Synthesized nanocrystalline GZO with tunable Ga concentrations and preserved wurtzite structure.
• Observed plasmonic resonance in the near-infrared region, confirmed by dielectric function and EELS.
• DFT calculations revealed an upward shift in the Fermi level and enhanced free-carrier density.
• Demonstrated intraband transitions and a robust epsilon-near-zero (ENZ) effect.

Conclusions:

• GZO nanoparticles exhibit a unique combination of semiconducting and plasmonic behavior.
• The tunable plasmonic response makes GZO suitable for advanced optoelectronic devices.
• GZO shows promise for low-loss infrared plasmonics and ENZ-enabled photonic applications.