Silver nanoparticles were synthesized by laser (Nd:YAG, A = 1064 nm) ablation of a silver target immersed in various concentrations of NaCl solutions as well as in neat water. The concentration dependence of the surface plasmon absorption at around 400 nm was examined by analyzing the absorbance and peak shape. Significant changes in the peak intensity and full width at half maximum (FWHM) were observed. Typically, the size of the silver nanoparticles produced in 5 MM NaCl solution ranged from 5 to 50 nn, with an average size of 26 nm. Also, fragmentation of silver nanoparticles by absorption of 355 nm laser light was found to be highly effective. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.