Electrical and optical properties of polymer‐Au nanocomposite films synthesized by magnetron cosputtering

Polymer‐Au nanocomposite films were prepared by co‐sputtering from two independent magnetron sources. By sputtering from gold and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) magnetrons, we prepared homogenous composite films using a rotatable sample holder. The microstructure of the nanocomposites was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The resistivity drops from 107 to 10−3 Ohm cm over a narrow range of metal content. The thin composite films show a strong optical absorption in the visible region due to surface plasmon resonances. The optical absorption has a strong dependence on the metal content, showing a red shift of the absorption peak from 550 nm to more than 700 nm with increasing gold content.