DIRECT OBSERVATION OF LIGHT-ABSORBING NANOCRYSTALS IN GLASS MATRICES BY THE PROJECTION LASER PHOTOION MICROSCOPY TECHNIQUE

This article reports on the achievement of actual laser (spectral) sel ectivity in the field ion microscopy technique: when irradiating needl e tips fabricated from heat-treated red light-filter glass by radiatio n from a copper vapor laser, light-absorbing CdSxSe1-x nanocrystallite s present in the transparent glass matrix were registered in the form of bright spots against a dark background in photoion images. Mean rad ii of the observed nanocrystallites are equal to 10-15 nm which corres ponds well to sizes being anticipated due to the heat treating conditi ons. Masses of the ions desorbed also indicated on the evaporation of rather heavy Cd, CdS, or analogous ions rather than light Si and analo gous ions which should be typical for the laser-induced field evaporat ion of the transparent glass. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S0034-6748(98)03210-9].