Formation of Metallic Nanoparticles in Silicate Glass through Ion Implantation

The composite layers based on sodium calcium silicate glass that contains metallic nanoparticles synthesized by implantation with Ag+ ions are studied. The ion implantation conditions are as follows: the energy is 60 keV, the doses are (2.0–4.0) × 1016 ions/cm2, and the temperatures of the irradiated glass are 20, 35, 50, and 60°C. The data on the distribution of implanted silver and the nucleation and growth of metallic nanoparticles over the depth as functions of the temperature and dose are obtained using the Rutherford backscattering technique and the reflectance optical spectra. It is demonstrated that small changes in the temperature of the irradiated glass substrate lead to considerable differences in the specific features of the nanoparticle formation in the bulk of samples. At implantation temperatures of 50 and 60°C, the reflectance spectrum contains overlapping bands with two selective maxima. This suggests the possible formation of two layers that are located at different depths and involve nanoparticles differing in size, whereas one layer composed of nanoparticles is formed at 20°C.