Nanosheet overlayer growing on nanoporous anodized alumina substrates studied with reflectance interference spectroscopy technology

Abstract

Non-destructive and real-time monitoring of the detailed growth process is essential for the manufacture of multilayer nanofilms. In this paper, the process of a layer of transparent nanosheets growing on the top surface of nanoporous anodized alumina (NpAA) is monitored by reflectance interference spectroscopy (RIfS) combining theoretical simulation and experimental detection. The main influencing factors on the properties of RIfS and effective optical thickness (EOT) are investigated systematically and in detail, where both NpAA and nanosheets parameters are changed individually as well as simultaneously. The experimental results for ∼ 1 μm thickness of (ZnO-ZnCl₂) nanosheets growing on the NpAA measured with a home-made RIfS system are in good agreement with the simulation data. We have shown that both the modeling and the experimental methodologies proposed have a high accuracy and a simplicity highly suitable in the fields of non-destructive, in situ and real-time monitoring of the fabrication process of transparent multi-layer composites, and can be readily employed to determine the nano structured thin film growth.