AFM, XRD and Optical Studies of Silver Nanostructures Fabricated under Extreme Plasma Conditions

Abstract

This paper reports the deposition of silver on silicon and glass substrates using ions generated in a 3.3 KJ dense plasma focus device. The hot and dense argon plasma formed during the focus phase ionizes the silver disc placed above the top of the anode. Glass and silicon substrates are placed at an axial position of 4.0 cm and 5.0 cm from the top of the anode and are exposed by two focus shots. The deposited materials obtained were characterized using X-ray diffraction, Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) and UV-vis Spectroscopy. The X-ray diffraction shows the [111] and [200] reflections of silver deposited on silicon substrates whereas on glass only [111] plane is observed. The AFM of silver deposited on silicon substrates shows nanostructures which have triangular like shape. The UV spectra for silver nanostructures placed at 4.0 cm and 5.0 cm on glass substrate shows the absorption peak which originates from the surface plasmon absorption of nanosized silver particles. A red shift of ~13 nm is observed for silver deposited on glass substrate placed at the distance of 5.0 cm from the top of anode.