Frontispiece: Size independent blue luminescence in nitrogen passivated silicon nanocrystals (Phys. Status Solidi A 10/2012)

Abstract

Surface chemistry can play an important role in determining the optical properties of silicon nanocrystals. On this page, referring to the article by Mita Dasog and Jonathan G. C. Veinot (pp. 1844–1846) it is shown that by changing the surface of silicon nanocrystals, their emission color can be tuned. Hydride surface terminated silicon nanocrystals emit red/orange whereas, when surface groups attached through nitrogen atoms are present they emit blue. Chloride atoms quench the photoluminescence. The photoluminescence properties are shown as a background together with a transmission electron micrograph image of silicon nanocrystals.