Radiation effects in nanoclusters embedded in solids

Nanoclusters embedded in hard solid materials such as silica show great promise for increased practical applications, as they combine the exciting nanosize effects with very high structural stability. Ion irradiation can be used to tailor the properties of these clusters, the perhaps most dramatic example being the use of swift heavy ions to reshape spherical metal nanoparticles to have antennas or become rods. In this article we review experimental and simulation studies of ion beam processing of nanoclusters embedded in solids.