Optical characterization of poly(methyl methacrylate) implanted with low energy ions

► The study provides the optical behavior of ion-implanted poly(methyl methacrylate). ► Optical energy gap reduces from 3.13 to 0.8 and 2.8 eV for N and Ar implanted PMMA. ► Refractive index increases from 1.54 to 2.71 and 2.02 for N and Ar implanted PMMA. ► The changes after N and Ar implantation are justified by Raman spectroscopy. ► The implanted PMMA may find extensive applications in opto-electronic devices.