Self-organized growth of small arrays of metal nanoislands on the surface of poled ion-exchange glasses

Self-organized metal nanostructures have been obtained by an original method on the surface of soda–lime glasses. The nanostructures are grown by heat treatment of poled glass substrates in hydrogen upon preliminary ion-exchange introduction of silver. The poling is produced with the aid of a profiled anode electrode. Using the proposed method, it is possible to grow separate metal nanoislands and ordered nanostructures of several islands on the glass surface. The islands are formed in submicron-sized unpoled regions as a result of self-assembly during out-diffusion of silver. Minimum spacing in linear groups of two or three silver islands is 20–30 nm at their characteristic size of about 100 nm. The proposed method allows nanoisland arrays and groups of a few islands to be grown and multiplicated.