Optical and Structural properties of noble metal nanoisLAND

Metallic nanostructures are widely studied because of their peculiar optical properties. They possess characteristic absorbance spectra with a peak due to plasmonic resonance. This feature is directly dependent on the nanostructures shape, size, distribution and environment surrounding them. This makes them good candidates for a variety of applications, such as localized surface plasmon resonance sensing (LSPR), surface-enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) and photovoltaics. A well established technique used to create nanoisland on flat substrates is performing a thermal treatment after the deposition of a thin metal film. While the most widely investigated metal in this context is gold, we have extended our investigation to palladium, which is interesting for sensing applications because it has an excellent hydrogen absorption ability. The morphological properties of the nanoisland depend mainly on the starting thickness of the deposited layer and on the annealing parameters, temperature and duration. The deposition and annealing process has been investigated, and the resulting samples has been tested optically and morphologically in order to optimize the structures in view or their application for sensing purposes.