Optical properties of ladder and network silicon polymers

We have studied optical properties of Si-backbone ladder and network polymers. The backbones of the ladder and network Si polymers are constructed by the organosilicon units with three SiSi bonds, and these Si polymers exhibit broad photoluminescence spectra in the visible region. These luminescence properties are entirely different from those of the chain structure constructed by the organosilicon units having two SiSi bonds. The structural disorder of Si-backbone structures plays an important role in optical properties of network polymers.