Multi-chromatic silicon nanocrystals

Light, Science & Applications
Benjamin BruhnKaterina Dohnalová

Abstract

Silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) have great potential to become environmental friendly alternatives to heavy-metal containing nanocrystals for applications including medical imaging, lighting and displays. SiNCs exhibit excellent photostability, non-toxicity and abundant resources, but their often reported inefficient and spectrally limited light emission seriously impair their applications. Here we demonstrate a new method that converts SiNCs into an efficient and robust multi-chromatic phosphor. Using ~15 keV electron-beam irradiation of oxide-capped SiNCs, we introduce several types of color centers into the nanocrystal's oxide shell with efficient blue, green and red emission bands, together yielding warm-white photoluminescence, even for a single SiNC. Introduced centers are not native to the original system and we relate them to known defects in silica. Unlike in the silica host, however, here the centers are efficiently optically excitable. Provided further optimization and up-scaling of this method, e-beam irradiated SiNCs can be of great interest as white phosphors for applications such as LEDs.

References

Mar 15, 1994·Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter·L TsybeskovP M Fauchet
Jun 15, 1994·Physical Review. B, Condensed Matter·Y Kanemitsu
Mar 7, 1994·Physical Review Letters·M S Hybertsen
Dec 17, 2004·Physical Review Letters·Massimo CazzanelliLorenzo Pavesi
Apr 10, 2014·Journal of Physics. Condensed Matter : an Institute of Physics Journal·K DohnalováK Kůsová
Sep 11, 2014·Physical Chemistry Chemical Physics : PCCP·Luisa SpallinoFranco Mario Gelardi

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Citations

Oct 3, 2018·Chemistry of Materials : a Publication of the American Chemical Society·Sidharam P PujariHan Zuilhof

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Methods Mentioned

BETA
electron-beam lithography

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