Formation of Sodium and Potassium Nanoparticles upon Local Electron Bombardment of Alkali-Halide Crystals

Abstract

It has been shown experimentally that upon local bombardment of NaCl, KCl, and KBr crystals with 50-keV electrons, sodium and potassium nanoparticles with plasmon resonances in the visible spectral region are formed in these crystals. We have obtained optical-density spectra of crystals after the bombardment with electrons in various doses. The probability of location of nanoparticles in the solid or liquid phase, as well as interference effects emerging in the irradiated zone of crystals, have been studied using numerical simulation.