Effect of Electron Irradiation on Optical Properties of Sodium Silicate Glass with Silver, Copper and Gold Films

It has been experimentally shown that irradiation of silicate glasses with thin films of gold, silver and copper by electrons with energy E = 45 keV leads to the formation of neutral molecular clusters of metals and the appearance of luminescence in the irradiation region. Subsequent heat treatment leads to the quenching of luminescence due to the formation from nanocluster of gold, silver and copper nanoparticles that have plasmon resonance in the visible region of the spectrum.