LAUSR

Embedded gold (Au) nanoparticles (NPs) are formed in Mg:Er:LiNbO3 single crystals by Au ion implantation and subsequent thermal annealing. Absorption of the Mg:Er:LiNbO3crystals with Au NPs is found to be enhanced significantly in visible light wavelength band owing to the localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) effect. Calculated LSPR effect by Mie theory shows good agreement with absorption spectra. A significantly enhanced Er related photoluminescence (PL) at 1.54 μm for crystals with Au NPs is also observed compared with samples without Au NPs. Energy transfer between Au NPs and Er is found to be responsible for the PL enhancement in the as-implanted samples while local field enhancement induced by LSPR is considered as dominant factor in the annealed samples. The dependence of PL enhancement on NP size makes it possible to tailor intensity by varying the annealing temperature. An avenue to enhance and modulate the PL of dielectrics with embedding Au NPs synthesized by ion implantation is presented in this study.