Interface influence on the surface plasmon resonance of Ag nanocluster composite

Ag nanoclusters embedded in silica matrix were formed by ion implantation to different doses. The intensity of surface plasmon resonance absorption enhances with the increasing of the implanted dose, but decreases at dose higher than 1×1017 ions/cm2 due to the surface sputtering effect. The lattice distortion of nanoclusters has been observed using a high-resolution transmission electron microscope. The positions of the resonance peaks are red-shifted after the samples were annealed in oxidizing atmosphere at elevated temperatures. The red shift is mainly attributed to the interactions of Ag nanoclusters with diffused oxygen and nanovoids.