Formation of Thin-Film Nanoparticle Materials for Single-Photon Avalanche Detectors

Abstract

The results of the formation of an original material based on thin films of metal nanoclusters and the investigation of its chemical composition, surface morphology, and structure are presented. Monodisperse thin films comprised of individual nanoclusters of Ta, Mo, and Ni metals were manufactured by gas-phase magnetron sputtering. Images of the surface were obtained by scanning electron microscopy and it was shown that the Ta and Mo films had a well-developed porous structure and consisted of separate nanoclusters contacting each other only at the interface. The chemical composition of the resulting films immediately after deposition (in situ) and after exposure to the atmosphere (ex situ) was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was shown that the exposure to the atmosphere led to the oxidation of the obtained films, namely, to the formation of oxide shells in nanoclusters that formed the films. The possibility of creating thin-film photodetectors based on nanocluster films to detect the decay of isomeric nuclear transition in ²²⁹Th nuclei is discussed.