[en] Sequential ion implantation has been used to synthesize Pd-based alloy nanoclusters in SiO₂. Three systems have been investigated (PdCu, PdAg and PdFe) in terms of nanocluster formation and stability under thermal annealing. In particular, we focused on the role played by the annealing atmosphere. A comparison is made with similar alloy-based systems obtained by sequential ion implantation in silica of Au-Ag or Au-Cu followed by annealing under similar conditions. Strong similarities have been found in the compositional evolution of Pd-based and Au-based nanoclusters

[en] The nanostructural and magnetic properties of Fe-Al/SiO₂ granular solids prepared by ion implantation have been investigated. A strong effect of the implantation order of the Fe and Al ions has been evidenced. By implanting first the Al ions and later Fe ions, 5-40 nm core-shell nanoparticles are formed with a magnetic behavior similar to that of Fe. The lattice parameter of the nanoparticles is consistent with that of the α-Fe. By changing the implantation order, 10-15 nm core-shell nanoparticles of a bcc Fe-based phase with a lattice 2.5% smaller than that of α-Fe are formed. The temperature dependence of the magnetization indicates a superparamagnetic behavior

[en] Generalized Multiparticle Mie theory is applied in order to study in detail local-field properties of metallic nanoplanets (i.e., a central cluster surrounded by small 'satellite' clusters very close to its surface), obtained by ion beam techniques. Strongly asymmetric dimers are chosen as model systems in order to establish the influence of topological parameters such as satellite dimension and distance from the central cluster surface on the local-field enhancement, with calculated enhancement factors as high as ∼180 in the case of silver. Similar topological configurations are shown to be present in typical nanoplanet systems, with comparable local-field enhancement factors. Simulations for silver and silver-gold alloy in silica, and for gold in titania matrix are reported as examples of possible experimental systems

[en] A selective dealloying in bimetallic nanoclusters prepared by ion implantation has been found upon thermal annealing in oxidizing atmosphere or irradiation with light ions. In the first process, the incoming oxygen interacts preferentially with copper promoting Cu₂O formation, therefore extracting copper from the alloy. In the second process the irradiation with Ne ions promotes a preferential extraction of Au from the alloy, resulting in the formation of Au-enriched 'satellite' nanoparticles around the original Au_xCu_1-x cluster

[en] Nanoparticles of tin dioxide embedded in silica matrix were synthesized by ion implanting a Sn⁺ ion beam in a silica slide and by annealing in oxidizing atmosphere at 800 deg. C. A detailed structural and optical characterization was performed by using glancing incidence x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, optical absorption, and photoluminescence spectroscopies. Metallic tetragonal β-tin crystalline nanoparticles were formed in the as-implanted sample. The annealing in oxidizing atmosphere promotes the total oxidation of the tin nanoparticles with a preferential migration of the nanoparticles toward the surface of the matrix. A broad blue-violet emission band peaked at 388 nm was observed in the photoluminescence spectra of both the as-implanted and annealed samples, which was attributed to the Sn-related oxygen deficiency center defects and the SnO₂ nanoparticles, respectively.

[en] A sol–gel route for TiO₂ nanocrystals (NCs) synthesis has been developed at low temperature without surfactants. Synthetic and processing parameters have been optimized to maximize particles’ colloidal stability and crystallinity. The obtained TiO₂ NCs can be homogeneously dispersed in a sol–gel derived organic–inorganic hybrid material, resulting in homogeneous composite films when prepared by spin coating. High refractive index films were obtained with high TiO₂ NCs loading and good transparency. Furthermore, TiO₂ colloidal solutions can be used for depositing porous crystalline films, whose structural evolution has been followed under different annealing treatments. Nanocrystals were characterized by UV–Vis absorption, TEM, FT-Raman, and XRD techniques, while nanocomposite and TiO₂ films were analyzed by SEM, TEM, and spectroscopic ellipsometry.

[en] In the present paper we combined ion implantation and nanosphere lithography to regularly dope, by a mask-assisted process, a SiO₂ substrate with rare earth ions (Er) by ion implantation and to fabricate by sputtering a plasmonic 2D periodic array of Au nanostructures on the silica surface spatially coupled to the implanted Er³⁺ ions. The aim of this work is to study how Er³⁺ emission at 1.5 μm can be affected by the interaction with a plasmonic nanostructure. In particular we have found a variation of the radiative lifetime of the Er³⁺ emission and a change from single exponential to bi-exponential of the luminescence intensity decay.

[en] The nonlinear absorption of Au-Ag nanoplanets made by Ar irradiation of bimetallic nanoclusters in silica has been experimentally investigated by means of the single beam z-scan technique. The measurements have been performed in the picoseconds regime in order to isolate the fast electronic contribution to the third-order nonlinearity. The results reveal large nonlinear absorption properties of these systems, characterized by the concomitance of saturable and reverse saturable absorption. A phenomenological expression has been developed to fit the z-scan curves and to quantitatively determine the nonlinear optical parameters.

[en] Tin dioxide nanoparticles embedded in silica matrix were fabricated by ion implantation combined with thermal oxidation. Silica substrate was implanted with a 150 keV Sn⁺ ions beam with a fluence of 1.0 x 10¹⁷ ions/cm². The sample was annealed for 1 h in a conventional furnace at a temperature of 800 ^oC under flowing O₂ gas. According to the structural characterization performed by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy techniques, metallic tetragonal tin nanoparticles with a volume average size of 12.8 nm were formed in the as-implanted sample. The annealing in oxidizing atmosphere promotes the total oxidation of the tin nanoparticles into tin dioxide nanoparticles with a preferential migration toward the surface of the matrix, where large and coalesced nanoparticles were observed, and a small diffusion toward the bulk, where smaller nanoparticles were found.

[en] Highlights: • Au:Co nanoalloy films are produced by physical vapor deposition at room temperature. • Both crystalline and poorly crystalline phases of the alloy are present. • The high degree of mixing favors the magnetic coupling of the two metals. • Au atoms in the film acquire a net magnetic moment. • The results are promising for the realization of a new class of magnetoplasmonic nanostructures. Coupling a plasmonic metal with a magnetic one in thin films and nanostructures is very interesting for the emerging field of magnetoplasmonics. In particular, coupling through alloying is a promising strategy to induce a magnetic moment on the plasmonic metal atoms, in a way that is intimately related to the local structure of the (metastable) alloy material. In this framework, Au:Co bimetallic films have been produced via magnetron co-sputtering deposition. X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) at both Au- and Co-edges clearly indicates the formation of a full-metallic layer composed for the major part of a binary Au_xCo_1−x alloy, with x = 0.7–0.8. XAS and transmission electron microscopy analyses suggest the presence of a minor fraction of segregated metals. X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) analysis at Au L_2,3 edges detected a net magnetic moment of Au atoms (μ = 0.06 μ_B), significantly larger (≈3.5 times) that the one for Au-capped Co nanoclusters and comparable to the one for a Co-rich Au/Co multilayer, despite the 4 times larger concentration of Co with respect to the present case. This Au-Co magnetic coupling is favored by a high degree of mixing of the two metals in the alloy.