Effect of the oxide shell thickness on the UV plasmonic performance of Ga, Mg and Al nanoparticles

Abstract

A recent interest in UV-plasmonics has appeared due to its increasing potential in many applications ranging from biology, spectroscopy or engineering. Magnesium, Aluminum and Gallium have been pointed out as promising materials for this purpose. However, these metals form an oxide layer, several nanometers thick, that may affect the formation of localized plasmons. In this work we analyze how the oxide shell thickness affect the plasmonic performance of nanostructures made from these metals.