Thermo-optical response of layered Bi nanostructures produced by pulsed laser deposition

This work reports optical transmission changes in layeredBinanostructures (NSs) upon heating–cooling cycles up to temperatures above the melting temperature. The nanostructured films prepared by pulsedlaserdeposition consist of Bi NSs with different characteristic sizes that are organised in layers and embedded in an amorphous Al2O3 host. The spectral dependence of the optical transmission as well as its changes upon heating are reported. The combination of Bi NSs layers with more than one characteristic size allows controlling the width of the melting–solidification transition. Eventually, it is shown how a multiple temperature thermo-optical film can be designed and prepared.This paper has been supported by projects MAT2009-14369-C02-02 (CICYT, Spain), and 2008MX0050 (Bilateral agreement CSIC, Spain/CONACYT, Mexico). AC and MGM acknowledge respectively grants from Consellería de Innovación e Industria of Xunta de Galicia and from the CSIC Introduction to Scientific Research Scholarship Programme.Peer Reviewe