Size characterisation of noble-metal nano-crystals formed in sapphire by ion irradiation and subsequent thermal annealing
Metallic nano-particles embedded in transparent dielectrics are very important for new technological applications because of their unique optical properties. These properties depend strongly on the size and shape of the nano-particles. In order to achieve the synthesis of metallic nano-particles it has been used the technique of ion implantation. This is a very common technique because it allows