Laser Ablation Synthesis of Hydrogenated Silicon Nanoparticles with Green Photoluminescence in the Gas Phase

Abstract

We found a route for synthesizing hydrogenated Si nanoparticles with 550 nm photoluminescence. The hydrogenated Si nanoparticles were synthesized by laser ablation of Si targets in H2 gas diluted with 5 Torr Ne gas. The photoluminescence, which was measured at 90 ms after laser ablation, is most enhanced in H2 gas at a partial pressure of 1 Torr under pulsed-laser excitation at 355 nm. The enhanced photoluminescence is ascribed to hydrogenated Si nanoparticles. The time-resolved photoluminescence spectroscopy revealed that the hydrogenated Si nanoparticles are stable against photoexcitation, while photodesorption of Si2 from Si nanoparticles was observed in Ne gas without H2 gas.