Colloid formation in copper-implanted fused silica and silicate glasses

Abstract

Copper implantations (90 keV, 5 × 1016 ions/cm2) were made into fused silica, borosilicate glasses and soda-lime glass. The copper distribution has been found to vary according to glass type. The optical absorption band characteristic of the implanted metal optical properties was observed only for copper-implanted fused silica. The absorption for all the other samples was either not observable or was negligibly small, however very small metallic particles are present also in the soda-lime glass. A subsequent nitrogen implantation (100 keV, 1.5 × 1017 ions/cm2) completely eliminated the copper-colloid induced absorption in the copper-implanted fused silica, while it facilitated the formation of copper-colloids into the soda-lime glass.