Tuning optical properties of ITO films grown by rf sputtering:Effects of oblique angle deposition and thermal annealing

Indium tin oxide(ITO)thin films were prepared using the technique of rf-sputtering with oblique angle deposition(OAD).The films were as-deposited and thermally treated at 250℃.The combination of substrate inclination and annealing was used for modifying morphological and structural properties that lead to changes of the optical properties.The resulting films show morphology of tilted nanocolumn,fissures among columns,and structural changes.The as-deposited films are structurally disordered with an amorphous component and the annealed films are crystallized and more ordered and the film diffractograms correspond to the cubic structure of In2O3.The refractive index could be modified up to 0.3 in as-deposited films and up to 0.15 in annealed films as functions of the inclination angle of the nanocolumns.Similarly,the band gap energy increases up to about 0.4 eV due to the reduction of the microstrain distribution.It is found that the microstrain distribution,which is related to lattice distortions,defects and the presence of fissures in the films,is the main feature that can be engineered through morphological modifications for achieving the adjustment of the optical properties.

Oblique angle deposition and its applications in plasmonics

Plasmonics based on localized surface plasmon resonance （LSPR） has found many exciting appli- cations recently. Those applications usually require a good morphological and structural control of metallic nanostructures. Oblique angle deposition （OAD） has been demonstrated as a powerful technique for various plasmonic applications due to its advantages in controlling the size, shape, and composition of metallic nanostructures. In this review, we focus on the fabrication of metallic nanostructures by OAD and their applications in plasmonics. After a brief introduction to OAD technique, recent progress of applying OAD in fabricating noble metallic nanostructures for LSPR sensing, surface-enhanced Raman scattering, surface-enhanced infrared absorption, metal-enhanced fluorescence, and metamaterials, and their corresponding properties are reviewed. The future requirements for OAD plasmonics applications are also discussed.

Highly Effective Detection of Amitraz in Honey by Using Surface-Enhanced Raman Scattering Spectroscopy Coupled with Chemometric Methods

As an effective and universal acaricide, amitraz is widely used on beehives against varroasis caused by the mite Varroa jacobsoni. Its residues in honey pose a great danger to human health. In this study, a sensitive, rapid, and environmentally friendly surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy method (SERS) was developed for the determination of trace amount of amitraz in honey with the use of silver nanorod (AgNR) array substrate. The AgNR array substrate fabricated by an oblique angle deposition technique exhibited an excellent SERS activity with an enhancement factor of -10^7. Density function theory was employed to assign the characteristic peak of amitraz. The detection of amitraz was further explored and amitraz in honey at concentrations as low as 0.08 mg/kg can be identified. Specifically, partial least square regression analysis was employed to correlate the SERS spectra in full-wavelength with Camitraz to afford a multiple-quantitative amitraz predicting model. Preliminary results show that the predicted concentrations of amitraz in honey samples are in good agreement with their real concentrations. Compared with the conventional univariate quantitative model based on single peak’s intensity, the proposed multiple-quantitative predicting model integrates all the characteristic peaks of amitraz, thus offering an improved detecting accuracy and anti-interference ability.

Monolithic integration of nanorod arrays on microfluidic chips for fast and sensitive one-step immunoassays

Here,we present integrated nanorod arrays on microfluidic chips for fast and sensitive flow-through immunoassays of physiologically relevant macromolecules.Dense arrays of Au nanorods are easily fabricated through one-step oblique angle deposition,which eliminates the requirement of advanced lithography methods.We report the utility of this plasmonic structure to improve the detection limit of the cardiac troponin I(cTnI)assay by over 6x 105-fold,reaching down to 33.9fg mL^(-1)(-1.4fM) compared with an identical assay on glass substrates.Through monolithic integration with microfluidic elements,the device enables a flow-through assay for quantitative detection of cTnI in the serum with a detection sensitivity of 6.9 pg mL^(-1)(-0.3 pM)in<6 min,which was 4000 times lower than conventional glass devices.This ultrasensitive detection arises from the large surface area for antibody conjugation and metal-enhanced fluorescent signals through plasmonic nanostructures.Moreover,due to the parallel arrangement of flow paths,simultaneous detection of multiple cancer biomarkers,including prostate-specific antigen and carcinoembryonic antigen,has been fulfilled with increased signal-to-background ratios.Given the high performance of this assay,together with its simple fabrication process that is compatible with standard mass manufacturing techniques,we expect that the prepared integrated nanorod device can bring on-site point-of-care diagnosis closer to reality.