Fabrication of a new type of optical medium with metallic nanolayers by ion implantation technique and vacuum evaporation

Results of experiments on creation of layers consisting of nanosized metallic particles in LiF host are presented. Two techniques were used: (i) implantation of Cu2+ ions with energies about 100 keV in bulk LiF samples by a special ion accelerator with subsequent annealing and (ii) deposition by thermal evaporation on the surface of a substrate of multi layer films, consisting of alternate layers of metal (Cu or Ag or Au) and LiF. By means of absorption spectroscopy and transmission electron spectroscopy it was established that nanoparticles were produced in the near surface layer of both the bulk crystal and thin film of LiF. Average sizes of the Cu particles were 10–30 nm and the average interparticle gap was 10–50 nm. Dependence of optical characteristics of the nanolayers on conditions of the film deposition was studied.