Formation of colloidal solutions of silicon nanoparticles in ethyl alcohol with ultra-short laser pulses

Abstract

The study of surface morphology of a silicon target after laser exposure, the formation and study of nanoparticles, obtained by laser ablation by ultrashort infrared pulses, were conducted. The material was processed using a yttrium aluminum garnet laser (LS-2134D) with a wavelength of 1064 nm, generating in a two-pulse mode (pulses are separated by a time interval of 3 μs, pulse duration is 10 ns, pulse repetition rate is 10 Hz, single pulse energy ~ 0.05 J). Alcohol solutions of silicon nanoparticles were obtained by laser ablation. It is shown that an ensemble of particles of different sizes (from 20 nm to 2.5 μm) is formed, which have no faceting. Using the method of scanning electron microscopy, the features of the morphology of the surface of the crater of polycrystalline silicon, which is in ethyl alcohol during pulsed laser processing in the double pulse mode, have been established. It is shown that the structure of the crater consists of silicon grains separated from each other by grooves; the material evaporates along the grain boundaries, and wide thermal etching grooves are formed. These results can be used to create solar cells.