Surface plasmon resonance investigation procedure as a structure sensitive method for SnO2 nanofilms

General principles of the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) phenomenon are applied to studying the structure and physical properties of thin conducting tin dioxide (SnO2) films. The SPR effects are detected and investigated by the methods of polarization modulation of the incident electromagnetic radiation. Angular and spectral dependencies of the reflection coefficients Rs2 and Rp2 for the s- and p-polarized radiation, together with their polarization difference ρ = Rs2 − Rp2 are measured in the wavelength range of 400–1600 nm. Experimentally obtained ρ(θ, λ) characteristics reflect the peculiar optical properties associated with the film structure and morphology. Surface plasmon–polaritons and local plasmons excited by s- and p-polarized radiation were observed. The results confirm that the SPR technique is a sensitive and informative method for the analysis of the SnO2 film structure.

► Polarimetric technique for surface plasmon resonance was applied to SnO2 films.
► Principle optical parameter of the film ρ(θ, λ) was measured.
► ρ(θ, λ) = Rs2 − Rp2 — reflection coefficient difference
► It was established that ρ(θ, λ) is associated with SnO2 films' structure.
► ρ(θ, λ) amplitude is reported to be dependent on precursor concentration.