Laser-assisted synthesis of Si–Au nanocomposites with trisodium citrate and their enhanced nonlinear optical properties

Si–Au nanocomposites were synthesised by pulsed laser ablation of a silicon target in a HAuCl 4 solution by Nd-YAG laser source with a wavelength of 1064 nm. The linear and nonlinear optical characteristics of the samples were studied along with their structural and morphological features. The nonlinear optical studies of synthesised Si–Au nanocomposites were carried out by a single-beam Z-scan technique using a 532 nm Nd: YAG laser source. Si–Au nanocomposites synthesised in the presence of trisodium citrate show enhancement in the nonlinear absorption and exceptional optical limiting activity, which can be explored for optical limiting applications.