Fabrication and characterization of Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films

Au/SiO2 nanocomposite films were prepared by radio frequency sputtering technique and annealing. The above nanocomposite films were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The surface of the nanocomposite films was uniform with the particle diameter of 100–300nm. The size of Au crystallites increased on increasing annealing time. The luminescent behavior of the nanocomposite films was characterized by photoluminescence (PL) with different excitation wavelengths. Two emission peaks at around 525nm and 560nm were observed with the excitation wavelength at 325nm. An intensive emission peak at around 325nm was observed with the excitation wavelength at 250nm, which is related to the defective structure of the amorphous SiO2 layer because of oxygen deficiency, and could be applied to many fields, such as ultraviolet laser and ultraviolet detector.