Implantation of plasmonic nanoparticles in SiO2 by pulsed laser irradiation of gold films on SiOx-coated fused silica and subsequent thermal annealing

The pulsed UV-laser irradiation of thin noble metal films deposited on glass substrates leads to the incorporation of metal particles in the glass, if a sufficiently high laser fluence is applied. This process is called laser implantation. For the implantation of gold into pure fused silica, high laser fluences (∼1 J/cm2 at 193 nm laser wavelength) are required. Using a SiOx (x ≈ 1) coated SiO2-substrate, the implantation of gold into this coating can be accomplished at significantly lower fluences starting from 0.2 J/cm2 (comparable to those used for standard glass). Particles with diameters in the range of 10-60 nm are implanted to a depth of about 40 nm as identified by transmission electron microscopy. An additional high temperature annealing step in air leads to the oxidation of SiOx to SiO2, without influencing the depth distribution of particles significantly. Only superficial, weakly bound particles are released and can be wiped away. Absorption spectra show a characteristic plasmon resonance peak at 540 nm. Thus, pure silica glass (SiO2) with near surface incorporated plasmonic particles can be fabricated with this method. Such material systems may be useful for example as robust substrates for surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS).