Synthesis of silver nanoparticles in glasses by ion implantation and investigation of their properties

We have investigated the process of metal nanoparticle (NP) synthesis in SiO2 by implanting Ag+ ions with an energy of 30 keV depending on the dose ((2–8)⋅1016 cm−2) and the ionic current density (4–15 μA/cm2).
Analysis of the composite materials formed was performed with the use of optical spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The NPs synthesized in the glass demonstrate a characteristic absorption line associated
with the surface plasma resonance effect. A correlation of the spectral shift of the lines caused by a change in the NP size with the diameter of the hemispherical asperities on the SiO2 surface registered by the AFM method has been revealed. It has been found that for the case of a fixed current density in the ion beam the silver NP sizes remain practically unaltered with increasing ion dose up to a certain value (6⋅1016 cm−2), and only an increase in the concentration of NPs is observed thereby. However, a further increase
in the dose causes a decrease in both the NP density and size. On the other hand, at a fixed high dose an increase in the ionic current density leads to a gradual enlargement of the NPs. We have considered the mechanisms explaining the change in the NP sizes with increasing dose and ionic current density and evaluated the possibilities of carrying out controlled synthesis by varying the implantation conditions.