Localized-Surface-Plasmon Enhanced the 357 nm Forward Emission from ZnMgO Films Capped by Pt Nanoparticles

The Pt nanoparticles (NPs), which posses the wider tunable localized-surface-plasmon (LSP) energy varying from deep ultraviolet to visible region depending on their morphology, were prepared by annealing Pt thin films with different initial mass-thicknesses. A sixfold enhancement of the 357 nm forward emission of ZnMgO was observed after capping with Pt NPs, which is due to the resonance coupling between the LSP of Pt NPs and the band-gap emission of ZnMgO. The other factors affecting the ultraviolet emission of ZnMgO, such as emission from Pt itself and light multi-scattering at the interface, were also discussed. These results indicate that Pt NPs can be used to enhance the ultraviolet emission through the LSP coupling for various wide band-gap semiconductors.

National Natural Science Foundation of China 50601025 60876031"863'' project of China 2009AA03Z305 CAS Special Grant for Postgraduate Research Innovation and Practice This work was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50601025 60876031) and the "863'' project of China (2009AA03Z305). One of the authors (JBY) thanks the CAS Special Grant for Postgraduate Research Innovation and Practice.