Opacity and plasmonic properties of Ag embedded glass based metamaterials

Plasmon resonance in noble metals at the nanoscale is technologically important for various applications in plasmonic devices. The synthesis and optoelectronic properties of silver based plasmonic metamaterials by the ion-exchange (Ag+-Na+) method in a soda-lime glass matrix have been investigated. The effects of annealing temperatures on plasmonic resonance of silver nanoclusters are discussed. During annealing the Ag+ is reduced to Ag-0 and subsequently forms silver nanoparticles in the oxidizing atmosphere. The particle sizes calculated from Mie theory are in excellent agreement with the size measured from FEGTEM. The prepared materials were characterized by XRD, UV-vis, RBS, XPS and Raman spectra.