Spatially controlled dissolution of Ag nanoparticles in irradiated SiO2 sol–gel film

In this paper, we report the spatially controlled dissolution of silver nanoparticles in irradiated SiO2 sol–gel films. The Ag nanoparticles have been formed in the sol–gel solution before the film deposition by adding Triton and ascorbic acid and also after the film deposition using a heat treatment at 700 °C for few minutes or at 550 °C for 6 h in reducing atmosphere. Using a spectrometer, a new view white light interferometer and a micro-thermal analyzer, we demonstrate that the silver nanoparticles can be dissolved using a continuous black ray UV lamp or with a near-infrared (NIR) femtosecond laser, due to a significantly increase in the local temperature. We confirm that the micro-thermal analyzer can be used as a new tool to study the dissolution of metallic nanoparticles in thin film if located at the surface of the films.