Preparation of Silver nanoparticles in silica films by combined thermal and electron-beam deposition

Thin films of silica containing Ag particles, grown by a co-deposition technique, have been studied by optical absorption, X-ray diffraction and low-frequency Raman scattering. Particle sizes were estimated from the vibrational frequencies of the quadrupolar spheroidal modes. Laser annealing increases the size of the particles and smoothes their surfaces.