The behavior of plasmonic antennas is influenced by a variety of factors, including their size, shape, and material. Even minor changes in the deposition parameters during the thin film preparation process may have a significant impact on the dielectric function of the film, and thus on the plasmonic properties of the resulting antenna. In this work, we deposited gold thin films with thicknesses of 20, 30, and 40 nm at various deposition rates using an ion-beam-assisted deposition. We evaluate their morphology and crystallography by atomic force microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and transmission electron microscopy. Next, we examined the ease of fabricating plasmonic antennas using focused-ion-beam lithography. Finally, we evaluate their plasmonic properties by electron energy loss spectroscopy measurements of individual antennas. Our results show that the optimal gold thin film for plasmonic antenna fabrication of a thickness of 20 and 30 nm should be deposited at the deposition rate of around 0.1 nm/s. The thicker 40 nm film should be deposited at a higher deposition rate like 0.3 nm/s.

Central European Institute of Technology Brno University of Technology Purkyňova 123 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Mechanical Engineering Institute of Physical Engineering Brno University of Technology Technická 2 616 69 Brno Czech Republic

NenoVision Purkyňova 127 612 00 Brno Czech Republic

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