Luminescent Silicon Nanocrystals Prepared by Laser-Assisted Synthesis in Liquid for Imaging and Photovoltaic Applications

Abstract

Silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) with photoluminescence in the visible spectral range were synthesized by laser irradiation of silicon wafers in solutions. Laser irradiation leads to the formation of well-dispersed Si–NCs with an average diameter of about 5 nm, which upon excitation with 300−450 nm light exhibited room temperature luminescence tunable in the range from 410 to 650 nm. The results showed that photoluminescence (PL) is affected by both sizes and surface states of the Si–NCs. The results obtained allow to conclude that the synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) can be suitable materials for applications in fluorescence imaging along with photovoltaics.