METHOD FOR THE SYNTHESIS OF AN ARRAY OF METAL NANOWIRES CAPABLE OF SUPPORTING LOCALIZED PLASMON RESONANCES AND PHOTONIC DEVICE COMPRISING SAID ARRAY

Method for the synthesis of an array of metal nanowires (w) capable of supporting localized plasmon resonances, wherein a metal film (M) deposited on a planar substrate (D) is irradiated with a defocused beam of noble gas ions (IB) under high vacuum, so that, with increasing ion doses: a corrugation is produced on the metal film surface, formed by a plurality of mutually parallel nanoscale self-organized corrugations (r); subsequently, the height of the self-organized corrugations peaks is increased relative to the valleys (t) interposed therebetween; then, the whole the metal film is eroded so as to expose the substrate at the valleys, and to mutually disconnect the self-organized corrugations, thereby generating said array of metal nanowires; and finally, the transversal cross-section of the nanowires is reduced in a controlled manner so as to adjust the localized plasmon resonances wavelength which can be associated thereto. The nanowires array constitutes an electrode of an improved photonic device.