Optical properties of multicomponent nanometer dimension metal colloids formed in silica by sequential ion implantation of In and Ag and In and Cu

A series of nanometer dimension colloids in silica have been fabricated by sequential implantation of Ag and In, and a series by sequential implantation of In and Cu. Energies of implantation were chosen using TRIM 89 to overlay the depth distributions of the sequentially implanted ions. The implanted layers were characterized using Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy, and optical spectroscopy. Nanometer dimension metal multicomponent colloids were formed. The depth distribution, particle size, and optical response of the composites were found to depend strongly on the ion species implanted and the relative ratio of the ion species. The optical responses are correlated with composition of the multicomponent nanoclusters.