Oxidation of Planar and Plasmonic Ag Surfaces by Exposure to O2/Ar Plasma for Organic Optoelectronic Applications. Issue 14 (2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Petoukhoff, Christopher E.; Antonick, Catherine; M., Bala Murali Krishna; Dani, Keshav M.; O'Carroll, Deirdre M.
• Is Part Of: MRS advances. Volume 1:Issue 14(2016)
• Page Start: 943
• Page End: 948
• Publication Date: 2016
• Subjects: x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), -- oxidation, -- optoelectronic; Electrical engineering -- Congresses; Physics -- Congresses; Materials -- Research -- Congresses; Materials science -- Congresses; 620.11
• DOI: 10.1557/adv.2016.83
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2059-8521

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Here, we expose planar and plasmonic Ag surfaces to a low-power O2 /Ar plasma to form an ultrathin surface oxide layer. We study the chemical state and morphology of the plasma-treated Ag surfaces using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, and dark-field microscopy. We observe the formation of an ultrathin layer (< 10 nm) composed of both AgO x and Ag2 CO3 for a plasma exposure time of 1 s by investigating shifts in the Ag3d, O1s, and C1s core level binding energies. For an exposure time of 1 s, the surface structure of the planar and plasmonic Ag surfaces remains unchanged. For exposure times of 5 - 30 s, the planar Ag surfaces become porous and exhibit increased surface roughness. We demonstrate that the plasma-treated planar and plasmonic Ag surfaces lead to improvements in the excited-state population of a polymer:fullerene coating through ultrafast pump-probe reflectometry.