Optical properties of Au: Sample effects
- 15 April 1980
- journal article
- research article
- Published by American Physical Society (APS) in Physical Review B
- Vol. 21 (8), 3290-3299
- https://doi.org/10.1103/physrevb.21.3290
Abstract
Reported optical data for Au are investigated to determine the origin of their differences. A single-parameter model representing voids in an otherwise homogeneous medium is shown to account for the major discrepancies in the above-band-gap ( eV) spectra for Au samples prepared in different ways. Ellipsometric measurements on transmission-electron-microscopy (TEM) characterized thin-film samples on an energy range of 1.5-5.8 eV support the void model but show the importance of measuring both and to separate volume from surface film effects. Differences in below-band-gap data arise from at least two mechanisms: grain-size effects in samples with a large volume fraction of imperfections, and increased surface scattering, probably from thermal grooving, in annealed samples. Two mechanisms are required because the lowest values of in the Drude region are shown to occur for unannealed but smooth, moderately thick film samples evaporated on room-temperature substrates. Our best below-band-gap data, taken on electron-beam evaporated samples, show directly the linearly increasing -band to Fermi-level transition threshold near at 1.8 eV unobstructed by the Drude tail. These data have an value at 1.5 eV equal to within experimental error to that calculated from the scattering lifetime derived from the known resistivity of the bulk metal, indicating a grain size and quality better than anything previously used for optical measurements in Drude region.
Keywords
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