Modification of ion-synthesized silver nanoparticles in glass by high-power excimer laser pulses

We have studied the action of nanosecond-pulsed high-power KrF excimer laser radiation on the composite layer of a soda-lime-silicate glass containing ion-synthesized silver nanoparticles, with the purpose of modifying the material properties by changing the size of metal particles. It is established that, as the number of laser pulses increases, the treatment leads to a decrease in the average size of silver nanoparticles in the ionimplanted layer. However, after the almost complete disintegration of silver particles, a further increase in the number of pulses leads to new growth and a coarsening of the metal particles. The observed phenomena are interpreted in terms of heating of the surface layer of glass and silver particles by nanosecond laser pulses and the related increase in the diffusion mobility of silver atoms in the glass matrix.