Morphology Control and Optical Absorption Properties of Ag Nanoparticles by Ion Implantation

Ion implantation is a powerful method for fabricating nanoparticles in dielectric. For the actual application of nanoparticle composites, a careful control of nanoparticles has to be achieved. In this letter, the size, distribution and morphology of Ag nanoparticles are controlled by controlling the ion current density, ion implantation sequence and ion irradiation dose. Single layer Ag nanoparticles are formed by Ag ion implantation at current density of 2.5 μA/cm. By Ag and Cu ions sequential implantation, the size of single layer Ag nanoparticles increases. While, by Cu and Ag ions sequential implantation, uniform Ag nanoparticles with wide distribution are formed. The morphology of Ag nanoparticles changes to hollow and sandwiched nanoparticles by Cu ion irradiation to doses of 3×1016 and 5×1016 ions/cm. The optical absorption properties of Ag nanoparticles are also tailored by these ways.