A two-step plasma processing for gold nanoparticles supported on silicon near-infrared plasmonics

A two-step sputtering methodology for fabricating gold nanoparticles supported on silicon with tuneable surface plasmon resonance down to the near-infrared spectral range has been developed. This methodology uses modification of the wettability of Si surfaces by an intermediate O(2) plasma treatment to decouple diameter and height of nanoparticles as tuneable parameters to tailor the plasmon resonance.