Position and Size-Controlled Photosynthesis of Silicon Nanocrystals in SiO2Films

The SiOxthin film made of the SiOxnanoparticles (~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 SiOxfilm not only produces Si NC´s, also transforms the SiOxfilm 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.