HIGH-ENERGY ION-BEAM MIXING - A NEW ROUTE TO FORM METALLIC NANOCLUSTERS IN A DIELECTRIC MATRIX

The formation of metallic nanoclusters in a dielectric matrix leads to nonlinear optical properties with potential applications in optoelect ronics. Ion implantation is a suitable technique to produce such clust ers, but it suffers limitations in terms of amount of incorporated met al and thickness of doped material. High-energy ion-beam mixing has be en used as an alternative to overcome these drawbacks. SiO2/Ag multila yers are irradiated at room temperature with increasing fluences of 4. 5-MeV Au ions. In situ RES experiments provide information on the mixi ng process. Optical absorption measurements show the presence of Ag cl usters in the irradiated sample.