Transformation of silver nanospheres embedded in glass to nanodisks using circularly polarized femtosecond pulses

We prove by help of optical microspectroscopy that spherical Ag nanoparticles embedded in glass can be transformed to oblate (disklike) shapes by irradiation with circularly polarized femtosecond laser pulses. The symmetry axis (short axis) of the oblate spheroids produced by this method is oriented along the laser propagation direction. This observation also confirms the assumption that the mechanism of shape transformation starts with directed photoionization of nanoparticles induced by laser irradiation in combination with the electric field enhancement at the particle-glass interface.