Growth Characteristics of Au/SiO2 Nanocomposites

This paper describes experimental studies of the growth morphology of Au/SiO2 nanocomposites consisting of nanometer-sized metal particles imbedded in a metal oxide, formed by the sequential deposition of metal and metal-oxide layers by RF sputtering. The materials work is aimed at the development of novel resistive-type exhaust gas constituent sensors. Using digitized images from a transmission electron microscope and an automated particle counting routine, we have measured the particle size distributions for films with varying layer thicknesses and deposition conditions. We find strong dependence of the particle size and overall composite structure on the Au and SiO2 layer thicknesses, in agreement with previous work.[1] We also identified four microstructure classes which can occur.