Position and Size-Controlled Photosynthesis of Silicon Nanocrystals in SiO>inf<2>/inf<Films

Abstract

The SiOx thin film made of the SiOx nanoparticles (-40,gm) shows a strong reaction to laser irradiation. The photosynthesis of silicon (Si) nanocrystals (NC's) is found to be self-limited to the laser power and exposure time. Furthermore, the laser irradiation of the SiOx film not only produces Si NC's, also transforms the SiOx film from the powder-like to the continuous.The photosynthesis of Si NC's has several advantages such as low-temperature process and good control in the size and positioning over the conventional synthesis methods and has many potential applications.