Diffusion limited Cu and Au nanocrystal formation in thin film SiO2

Elemental Cu and Au nanocrystals (NCs) were produced by high-energy ion-implantations into amorphous silica (SiO2) and subsequent thermal annealing. By a combination of X-ray diffraction (XRD) and cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (XTEM) we confirm both NC species to have the bulk face-centered cubic phase and estimate their average diameter. We concentrate on the investigation of the concentration and size-dependent coordination number (CN) of these matrix embedded NCs utilising extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) spectroscopy. The CN is found to be suppressed compared to that of a bulk standard. The CN in Au NCs is found to be lower than that of Cu NCs in agreement with smaller average Au NC sizes. We explain this difference by the difference in diffusivity for the two atomic species in SiO2.