Z-scan study of nonlinear absorption of gold nano-particles prepared by ion implantation in various types of silicate glasses

Metal nano-clusters composite glasses synthesized by ion implantation have been shown as promising nonlinear photonic material. In this paper, we report on the nonlinear absorption measurements of gold nano-particles implanted in four structurally different types of silicate glasses. All targets containing gold nano-particles in a layer 500 nm under the surface of the glass have been prepared by ion implantation with subsequent annealing. The targets were characterized by UV–VIS absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by the Z-scan technique. The resulting nano-particles differed in size, range of particle size and shape as well as depth distribution characteristic for glasses with different chemical compositions. With the Z-scan technique, it can be shown that the nano-particles produced in silicate glasses exhibit substantial two-photon absorption (TPA). The TPA coefficient differed depending on size, shape, and depth distribution of the metal nano-clusters and the structure and composition of the glass substrates. The highest TPA coefficient (16.25 cm/GW) was found for the glass BK7 in which the largest non-spherical nano-particles have been observed in the thinnest layer.