Fabrication of two-dimensional Au/SiO2 nanocomposite arrays and their diffractive properties

Abstract

In this work, the method of etching the metal-ion-implanted dielectric via a patterned electron beam (EB) resist mask was used to fabricate the metal/glass nanocomposite arrays with prospective applications. Following the method, the Au/SiO2 nanocomposite arrays with an expected square grid of 600 nm periodicity (50% in the duty cycle) were fabricated. Experimental results revealed that the fabricated arrays presented a better diffractive performance compared with the unimplanted silica glass array. Subsequently, the diffraction characteristics of the corresponding one-dimensional Au/SiO2 nanocomposite arrays were numerically simulated. The calculated results showed that the diffraction efficiency of the Au/SiO2 nanocomposite array was influenced by the distribution depth and volume fraction of nanocomposites, which could be improved significantly by optimizing the parameters of the Au/SiO2 nanocomposite.