Shaping of nanometals by high energy ion beams


Shaping of nanometals by high energy ion beams

Vredenberg, A.; Dawi, E.; Mink, M.; Heinig, K.-H.; Toulemonde, M.; Nordlund, K.; Kuronen, A.

Metal nanorods and nanowires have great potential in a wide range of fields, because of their tunable (by shape and size) optical and magnetic properties. We present a new and unique way of producing nanorods and -wires, embedded in a solid, that are aligned in the same direction. Starting from spherical Au nanocolloids in a silica film we will show that the colloids are shaped controllably into rods and -at later stages- wires by irradiation with an MeV heavy ion beam. The ion-beam induced anisotropy (from a spherical colloid to a rod) is caused by the highly anisotropic ion track: a long, few nm diameter cylinder of highly excited material. The colloids elongate and form rods with their long axis in the direction of the ion beam. The mechanism of this deformation is still under investigation, but we will discuss possible origins, involving anisotropy in mechanical or mass balance gradients. We will also discuss the potential of these individually shaped nanoparticles in applications such as nano(bio-)sensors, upconverters for solar cells, magnetic nanodevices, smart optical materials with negative index of refraction (left-handed materials.

Keywords: nanostructures; shaping; nanowire; high-energy ion irradiation; gold; silica; modeling; computer simulation

  • Invited lecture (Conferences)
    MRS Fall Meeting 2006, Symposium "Self Assembly of Nanostructures Aided by Ion- or Photon-Beam Irradiation---Fundamentals and Applications", 27.-29.11.2006, Boston, USA

Permalink: https://www.hzdr.de/publications/Publ-9285
Publ.-Id: 9285