Assessing Effects of Near-Field Synergistic Light Absorption on Ordered Inorganic Phototropic Growth
Abstract
We report herein that synergistic light absorption in the optical near-field enables nanoscale self-organization during inorganic phototropic growth. Se–Te was grown electrochemically under illumination from an incoherent, unstructured light source in geometrically constrained, wavelength scale areas. Despite the limited dimensions, with as few as two discrete features produced in a single sub-micron dimension, the deposit morphology exhibited defined order and anisotropy. Computer modeling analysis of light absorption in simulated structures revealed a synergy wherein light capture in a nanoscale feature was enhanced by the presence of additional adjacent features, with the synergistic effect originating predominantly from nearest neighbor contributions. Modeling moreover indicated that synergistic absorption is produced by scattering of the incident illumination by individual nanoscale features, leading to a local increase in the near-field intensity and consequently increasing the absorption in neighboring features. The interplay between these optical processes establishes the basis for spontaneous order generation via inorganic phototropic growth.
Additional Information
© 2021 American Chemical Society. Received: December 18, 2020; Published: March 8, 2021. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, Directorate for Mathematical & Physical Sciences, Division of Materials Research under Award Number DMR 1905963. The authors gratefully acknowledge J. R. Thompson and W.-H. Cheng for insightful discussions and R. Gerhart and N. Hart for assistance with photoelectrochemical cell fabrication. M.C.M. and K.R.H. acknowledge Graduate Research Fellowships from the National Science Foundation. M.C.M. also acknowledges the Resnick Sustainability Institute at Caltech for fellowship support. Author Contributions: A.I.C. and M.C.M. contributed equally. The authors declare no competing financial interest.Attached Files
Supplemental Material - ja0c13085_si_001.pdf
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Additional details
- Eprint ID
- 108391
- Resolver ID
- CaltechAUTHORS:20210311-085247183
- NSF
- DMR-1905963
- NSF Graduate Research Fellowship
- Resnick Sustainability Institute
- Created
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2021-03-11Created from EPrint's datestamp field
- Updated
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2021-11-16Created from EPrint's last_modified field
- Caltech groups
- Resnick Sustainability Institute