Plasma ion induced Au nanocluster formation on silica

Inclusion of metal ions in photorefractive materials followed by thermal annealing leads to an increase in optical absorption. The glow discharge as well as thermal annealing have been used to change the optical properties of suprasil. We used the effects of the low-energy ions to induce the nucleation of nanocrystals on and near the surface of a silica nano-layer containing low concentrations of Au, produced by using the co-deposition of Au and silica thin film on a suprasil substrate. Au-nanoclusters were formed both by thermal annealing and glow discharge, then observed and studied by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and by optical absorption photospectrometry. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.