Z-scan study of nonlinear absorption of gold nano-particles prepared by ion implantation in various types of silicate glasses
Abstract
Metal nano-clusters composite glasses synthesized by ion implantation have been shown as promising nonlinear photonic material. In this paper, we report on the nonlinear absorption measurements of gold nano-particles implanted in four structurally different types of silicate glasses.
All targets containing gold nano-particles in a layer 500 nm under the surface of the glass have been prepared by ion implantation with subsequent annealing. The targets were characterized by UV-VIS absorption spectroscopy, transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and by the Z-scan technique.
The resulting nano-particles differed in size, range of particle size and shape as well as depth distribution characteristic for glasses with different chemical compositions. With the Z-scan technique, it can be shown that the nano-particles produced in silicate glasses exhibit substantial two-photon absorption (TPA).
The TPA coefficient differed depending on size, shape, and depth distribution of the metal nano-clusters and the structure and composition of the glass substrates. The highest TPA coefficient (16.25 cm/GW) was found for the glass BK7 in which the largest non-spherical nano-particles have been observed in the thinnest layer.