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Laser based methods for enhancement of the photoluminescence of Si quantum dots by coupling to plasmonic particles

Subject Area Synthesis and Properties of Functional Materials
Term from 2020 to 2024
Project identifier Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 451328931
 
Final Report Year 2025

Final Report Abstract

While silicon is indispensable in the semiconductor industry, its applications in photonics are still very limited. The so-called indirect band gap makes it difficult for Si to interact with light. However, it is known that silicon exhibits different optical properties when reduced in size to a few nanometers than in bulk material. The so-called silicon nanocrystals or silicon quantum dots enable the absorption and emission of light in the visible and near-infrared spectrum. One possible application would be the integration of active emitters in Si photonics. However, many other applications can be found, for example in data storage or photovoltaics. Although the efficiency of silicon nanocrystals has been increased in recent years, it is still not sufficient to be implemented in such applications. In this project, laser-based methods have been developed to increase the efficiency. For this purpose, metallic nanoparticles, in this case gold, are coupled to the silicon quantum dots. The implementation for this is by laser-based implantation of gold nanoparticles into an oxide matrix containing Si nanocrystals is developed. If the gold nanoparticles have suitable sizes and shapes, they can enhance the light absorption and light emission of the Si nanocrystals. The distance between the metallic particles and the Si quantum dots is also crucial for this. In the project, the photoluminescence (PL) was increased by more than double. A further increase of three times was achieved by a grating-like surface structuring of the layer containing the Si nanocrystals, which improves the light extraction.

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