An Optical Limiter Based on Silver-Silica Nanocomposites

Abstract

Silver based nanocomposites are of high demand for their extensive biomedical applications and interesting fundamental studies. Silver and silica based nanocomposites were synthesized by a sol–gel process using tetraethyl orthosilicate and silver nitrate (AgNO3 as precursors. The silver nitrate amount was varied for obtaining composites with different nanoparticle sizes. The structural and micro-structural properties were determined from X-ray diffractometry (XRD), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurements. Grain growth and agglomeration of nanoparticles were observed for increasing silver nitrate concentrations. Optical nonlinearities associated with these samples have been measured by employing open aperture Z-scan technique and the obtained results were fitted to appropriate nonlinear transmission equations. It is found that the composites behave as good optical limiters indicating potential in photonics applications.