Indium tin oxide nanoparticle:TiO$_{2}$:air layers for one-dimensional multilayer photonic structures

TL;DR

This study models the optical properties of one-dimensional multilayer photonic structures with ITO/TiO₂ nanoparticle layers, revealing how varying compositions affect light transmission and plasmonic resonances, relevant for smart window applications.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed transfer matrix analysis of ITO/TiO₂ nanoparticle layers in photonic crystals, accounting for ternary mixture dielectric functions, and explores their optical tuning capabilities.

Findings

Increasing ITO content enhances NIR plasmon resonance.

Higher ITO levels reduce visible photonic band gap.

Optical properties can be tailored for smart window design.

Abstract

In this work we study the optical properties, by means of the transfer matrix method, of one-dimensional photonic crystals in which layers of silica nanoparticles are alternated with layers of indium tin oxide nanoparticle (ITO) / titania nanoparticle mixture. The dielectric function of the mixed ITO/TiO$_{2}$ nanoparticle layer is carefully accounted for with a generalized Rayleigh equation for the ternary mixture ITO:TiO$_{2}$:air. We have studied the light transmission of the multilayer photonic crystal as a function of the ITO/TiO$_{2}$ ratio. We observe that, by increasing the ITO content in the three-phase mixture, the intensity of the plasmon resonance in the near infrared (NIR) increases and the intensity of the photonic band gap (visible) decreases. Thus, our study is of major importance for the realization of electrochromic smart windows, in which separate and independent NIR and visible light control is required.