FORMATION AND CHEMICAL-PHYSICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF METALLIC NANOCLUSTERS IN ION-IMPLANTED SILICA

Implantation of metal ions in glass substrates leads, under certain ci rcumstances, to the formation of nanometer-radius colloidal particles in a thin surface layer. The nonlinear optical properties of such coll oids, in particular the enhancement of optical Kerr susceptibility, su ggest that the ion implantation technique may play an important rob fo r the production of all-optical switching devices. The formation of th ese particles in silica mainly depends on the reactivity of the substr ates and of the implanted ions, on the concentration of the metal, on its mobility. in spite of the great interest due to possible applicati ons in device construction, processes governing the chemical and physi cal interactions between the dielectric host and the implanted metal a re far from being completely understood. In this paper particular emph asis is given to the study of chemical interactions between implanted metals and silica hosts. Results are reported for titanium, chromium, tungsten, copper, silver and platinum.