Modulation of the photoluminescence of Si quantum dots by means of CO2 laser pre-annealing

Si quantum dots (QDs) embedded in SiO₂ can be normally prepared by thermal annealing of SiO_x (x < 2) thin film at 1100 °C in an inert gas atmosphere. In this work, the SiO_x thin film was firstly subjected to a rapid irradiation of CO₂ laser in a dot by dot scanning mode, a process termed as pre-annealing, and then thermally annealed at 1100 °C for 1 h as usual. The photoluminescence (PL) intensity of Si QD was found to be enhanced after such pre-annealing treatment. This PL enhancement is not due to the additional thermal budget offered by laser for phase separation, but attributed to the production of extra nucleation sites for Si dots within SiO_x by laser irradiation, which facilitates the formation of extra Si QDs during the subsequent thermal annealing.     

A combined approach to fabricating Si nanocrystals with high photoluminescence intensity

This work demonstrates that by combining three methods with different mechanisms to enhance the photoluminescence (PL) intensity of Si nanocrystals embedded in SiO₂ (or Si-nc:SiO₂), a promising material for developing Si light sources, a very high PL intensity can be achieved. A 30-layered sample of Si-nc:SiO₂/SiO₂ was prepared by alternatively evaporating SiO and SiO₂ onto a Si(1 0 0) substrate followed by thermal annealing at 1100 °C. This multilayered sample possessed a fairly high PL efficiency of 14% as measured by Greenham's method, which was 44 times that of a single-layered one for the same amount of excess Si content. Based on this multilayered sample, treatments of CeF₃ doping and hydrogen passivation were subsequently applied, and a high PL intensity which was 167 times that of a single-layered one for the same amount of excess Si content was achieved.     

Room temperature photoluminescence mechanism of SiOx film after annealing at different temperatures

SiO_x films were deposited on Si(1 0 0) substrates by evaporation of SiO powder. The samples were annealed from room-temperature (RT) to 1100 °C. After the samples were cooled down to RT, photoluminescence (PL) spectra from these samples were measured. It was found that when the annealing temperature Ta is not higher than 1000 °C, there is a PL centered at 620 nm, and with Ta increasing the intensity increases at first and then decreases when Ta is higher than 500 °C. When Ta is no less than 1000 °C another PL peak located at 720 nm appears. Combined with Raman and XRD spectra, we confirm that the latter PL is from Si nanocrystals that start to form when Ta is higher than 1000 °C. PL spectra for Ta<900 °C were discussed in detail and was attributed to defects in the matrix rather than from Si clusters.     

Hydrogen Passivation Effect on Enhanced Luminescence from Nanocrystalline Si/SiO2 Multilayers

Nanocrystalline Si/SiO2 multilayers are prepared by thermally annealing amorphous Si/SiO2 stacked structures. The photoluminescence intensity is obviously enhanced after hydrogen passivation at various temperatures. It is suggested that the hydrogen trapping and detrapping processes at different temperatures strongly influence the passivation effect. Direct experimental evidence is given by electron spin resonance spectra that hydrogen effectively reduces the nonradiative defect states existing in the Si nanocrystas/SiO2 system which enhances the radiative recombination probability. The luminescence characteristic shows its stability after hydrogen passivation even after aging eight months.     

Correlation between Light Emissions from Amorphous-Si：H/SiO2 and nc-Si/SiO2 Multilayers

We investigate the properties of light emission from amorphous-Si：H/SiO2 and nc-Si/SiO2 multilayers （MLs）. The size dependence of light emission is well exhibited when the a-Si：H sublayer thickness is thinner than 4 nm and the interface states are well passlvated by hydrogen. For the nc-Si/Si02 MLs, the oxygen modified interface states and nanocrystalline silicon play a predominant role in the properties of light emission. It is found that the light emission from nc-Si/SiO2 is in agreement with the model of interface state combining with quantum confinement when the size of nc-Si is smaller than 4 nm. The role of hydrogen and oxygen is discussed in detail.     

Effect of OH on the upconversion luminescent efficiency of Y2O3:Yb, Er nanostructures

In this work, we used the hydrothermal method to synthesize Yb³⁺ and Er³⁺ ions doped cubic Y₂O₃ nanostructures, which is an upconversion luminescent material. Three distinct shapes such as nanotubes, nanospheres and nanoflakes formed in the products by adjusting the pH value of reacting solution. Powder X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that all the three nanostructures were pure cubic phase, while electron microscopy measurements confirm the formation of different morphologies. These nanostructures exhibit strong visible upconversion luminescence under the excitation of a 978-nm diode laser. The FTIR and fluorescent decay measurements at the size and morphology of sample changed from tubes to flakes indicate that the OH⁻ group is the origin of luminescent efficiency change. OH⁻ ions with high vibration frequency provide an efficient means to quench the luminescence. However, the relative intensity and pump-power dependence of the green and red emissions varies with the three nanostructures possessing different size and morphology.     

Luminescence and Energy Transfer of Eu^2＋, Mn^2＋ in SrZnP2O7

The SrZnP2OT：Eu^2＋, Mn^2＋ phosphor is synthesized by high temperature solid state reaction. The luminescence properties and the energy transfer between Eu^2＋ and Mn^2＋ are investigated. The emission bands of this phosphor peaked at 42Ohm and 67Ohm are originated from the 5d → 4f transition of Eu^2＋ and from the 4T1 （4G） --〉 6A1 （6S） transit/on of Mn^2＋, respectively. With the increasing Mn^2＋ concentration, the intensity of fixed concentra- tion Eu^2＋ decreases and the intensity of Mn^2＋ also increases. It is suggested that there is an energy transfer from Eu^2＋ to Mn^2＋ in SrZnP2O7 host. According to Dexter＇s energy transfer formula of multipolar interaction, the energy transfer between Eu^2＋ and Mn^2＋ is due to the electric dipole-quadrupole interaction of the resonance transfer.     

Broadband Infrared Luminescence from Bismuth-Doped GeS2--Ga2S3 Chalcogenide Glasses

Near-infrared luminescence is observed from bismuth-doped GeS2-Ga2Sa chalcogenide glasses excited by an 808 nm laser diode. The emission peak with a maximum at about 1260 nm is observed in 80GeS2-2OGa2 Sa：O.fBi glass and it shifts toward the long wavelength with the addition of Bi gradually. The full width of half maximum （FWHM） is about 200 nm. The broadband infrared luminescence of Bi-doped GeS2-Ga2Sa chalcogenide glasses may be predominantly originated from the low valence state of Bi, such as Bi＋. Raman scattering is also conducted to claxify the structure of glasses. These Bi-doped GeS2 Ga2Sa chalcogenide glasses can be applied potentially in novel broadband optical fibre amplifiers and broadly tunable laser in optical communication system.     

Vacuum Ultraviolet Excited Photoluminescence Properties of Novel Na3Y9O3（BO3）8：Tb^3＋ Phosphor

The novel vacuum ultraviolet （VUV） excited Na3 Y9O3 （BO3）8：Tb^3＋ （NYOB：Tb^3＋） green phosphor is prepared. Strong VUV photoluminescence and high quenching concentration of Tb^3＋ （20 wt%） are observed in NYOB： Tb^3＋ and the strong emission are correlated with the unique layer-type structure of NYOB. All the characteristic 4 f - 5d transitions of Tb^3＋ and the host absorption band in VUV region are identified in the excitation spectrum. Based on the results, the energy levels scheme of Tb^3＋ in NYOB：Tb^3＋ is first established. This newly developed NYOB：Tb^3＋ phosphor shows excellent optical properties when compared with the commercial Zn2SiO4：Mn^2＋ and would be a potential VUV-excited green phosphor.     

Preparation and Luminescence Characteristics of Ca3Y2（BO3）4：Eu^3＋ Phosphor

Ca3Y2 （BO3）4：Eu^3＋ phosphor is synthesized by high temperature solid-state reaction method, and the Iuminescence characteristics are investigated. The emission spectrum exhibits two strong red emissions at 613 and 621 nm corresponding to the electric dipole ^5 Do- ^7F2 transition of Eu^3＋ under 365 nm excitation, the reason is that Eu^3＋ substituting for Y^3＋ occupies the non-centrosymmetric position in the crystal structure of Ca3 Y2 （BO3）4. The excitation spectrum for 613 nm indicates that the phosphor can be effectively excited by ultraviolet （UV） （254 nm, 365nm and 400nm） and blue （470nm） light. The effect of Eu^3＋ concentration on the emission intensity of Ca3 Y2 （BO3）4 ：Eu^3＋ phosphor is measured, the result shows that the emission intensities increase with increasing Eu^3＋ concentration, then decrease. The CIE colour coordinates of Ca3Y2 （BO3）4：Eu^3＋ phosphor is （0.639, 0.357） at 15mol% Eu^3＋.     

Electroluminescence from Multilayered Diamond/CeF3/SiO2 Films

We report a thin film electroluminescent device with a three-layer structure （diamond/CeF3/SiO2 films）, which has a luminance of 1.5 cd/m^2 at dc voltage 215 V. The electroluminescence spectrum at room temperature shows that the main peaks locate at 527 and 593nm, which are attributed to isolated emission centers of Ce^3＋ ions.     

Memory Effect of Metal--Insulator--Silicon Capacitors with SiO2/HfO2/Al2O3 Dielectrics

Charge trapping characteristics of the metal-insulator-silicon （MIS） capacitors with Si02/HfO2//A12O3 stacked dielectrics are investigated for memory applications＇. A capacitance-voltage hysteresis memory window as large as 7.3 V is achieved for the gate voltage sweeping of ±12 V, and a fiat-band voltage shift of 1.5 V is observed in terms of programming under 5 V and I ms. Furthermore, the time- and voltage-dependent charge trapping characteristics are also demonstrated, the former is related to charge trapping saturation and the latter is ascribed to variable tunnelling barriers for electron injecting and discharging under different voltages.     

Electrical and Magnetic Properties of FeSi2 Nanowires

We report the characterization of self-assembled epitaxially grown FeSi₂ nanowires (NWs) in terms of electrical and magnetic properties. NWs grown by reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE) on silicon (110) show dimensions of 10nm×5nm, and several micrometres in length. By using conductive-AFM (c-AFM), electron transport properties of one single NW is measured, resistivity of a single crystalline FeSi₂ NW is estimated to be 225μ\Ω &#12539;cm. Using superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID), we measure a magnetic moment of 0.3±0.1 Bohr magneton per iron atom for these FeSi₂ NWs.     

Space-Selective Precipitation of Ba2TiSi2O8 Crystals in Sm3^＋-Doped BaO-TiO2-SiO2 Glass by Femtosecond Laser Irradiation

The ferroelectric crystal Ba2TiSi2O8 with high second-order optical nonlinearity is precipitated in Sm^3＋-doped BaO-TiO2-SiO2 glass by a focused 800hm, 250 kHz and 150fs femtosecond laser irradiation. No apparent blue and red emissions are observed at the beginning, while strong blue emission due to second harmonic generation and red emission due to the f-f transitions of Sm^3＋ are observed near the focal point of the laser beam after irradiation for 25s. Micro-Raman spectra confirm that Ba2 TiSi2O8 crystalline dots and lines are formed after laser irradiation. The mechanism of the phenomenon is discussed.     

Spectral Hole-Burning of Eu^3＋：Y2SiO5 Crystal at 16 K

By using an Ar^＋ ion laser, a tunable Rh 6G dye laser （linewidth 0.5cm^-1） pumped by the second harmonic of a YAG：Nd laser and a Coherent 899-21 dye laser as light sources and using a monochromator, a phase-locking amplifier and a computer as the data detecting system, we detect the optical properties of Eu^3＋-doped Y2SiO5 crystal. Persistent ,spectral hole burning （PSHB） are observed in the Eu^3＋ ions spectral lines （^5 Do-T Fo transition） in the crystal at the temperature of 16K. For 15mW dye laser burning the crystal for 0.1 s spectral holes with hole width about 80 MHz both at 579.62nm and at 579.82nm are detected and the holes can remain for a long time, more than 10h.     

VUV/UV/X-Ray Excited Luminescent Properties of Eu^3＋ and Pr^3＋ Doped BiSbO4

Absorption spectra of BiSbO4 are studied. The electronic structure calculated by the DFT shows that BiSbO4 is a semiconductor, with direct band gap 2.96 eV, which is consistent with UV-visible diffuse reflectance experiment. The host lattice emission band is located at 440 nm under VUV excitation. Eu^3＋ and Pr^3＋ doped samples have high luminescence efficiency in emitting red and green light, respectively. From the partial density of states, Eu^3＋ doped emitting spectrum, and the host crystal structure parameters, the relationship between structure and optical properties is discussed. It is found that the Eu^3＋ ions occupied Bi^3＋ sites, and there could be an energy transfer from Bi^3＋ ions to RE^3＋ ions.     

Photoluminescence Property of Co3O4 Nanowires

Co3O4 nanowire arrays are fabricated by electrodeposition with following heat-treatment in atmosphere ambient. Photoluminescence is investigated at 295K. In the experiment, when increasing the excitation light wavelength from 260 nm to 360 nm, two kinds of emissions corresponding to the increasing excitation light wavelength are observed. One of them alters the excited emission position, another keeps its emission position. The distinct behaviour of excited emissions related to the increasing excitation wavelength indicates that the mechanism of them must be different. According to the experimental comparison and first-principle calculation, the two kinds of emissions are discussed.     

Concentration and Temperature Dependences of YBO3：Bi^3＋ Luminescence under Vacuum Ultraviolet Excitation

Bi^3＋ doped YB03 phosphors are prepared by solid state reaction and their luminescent properties are investi- gated by using synchrotron radiation instrument, Concentration and temperature dependences of YBO3：Bi3＋ luminescence under VUV/UV excitation is observed, The emission and excitation spectra are assigned, and the mechanism for these phenomena is explored, which result from the energy transfer between Bi^3＋ ions occupying different sites in YB03 crystal lattice.     

Electrical behaviour of catalytic nanostructured CeO2/CuOx composites under air-methane gas impulses

Nanostructured composites based on copper oxide and cerium dioxide phases [CuO-CeO₂] were elaborated from sol-gel route, with weight fractions of CuO phase ranging between 0 and 0.4. They are interesting potential catalysts allowing conversion of CH₄ and CO into CO₂ and H₂O and might be used in miniaturized gas sensors. An electrical study of this nanostructured system was carried out to determine catalytic behaviours under air-methane impulses at 350 °C. The electrical analysis was based on a specific homemade electronic device. Time dependent interactions between gas pulses and solid catalyst (CuO/CeO₂) were analyzed from a frequency modification of the electronic device. Kinetic parameters were determined from a model describing adsorption and desorption of gases adapted to short interaction time between gas and solid. These time dependent electrical behaviours were then correlated with infrared spectroscopy analyses allowing time dependent analysis of methane conversion into CO₂ gas, for long interaction time between gas and solid.     

Effect of Precursor Molar Ratio of [S^2-]/[Zn^2＋] on Particle Size and Photoluminescence of ZnS：Mn^2＋ Nanocrystals

We investigate the influence of precursor molar ratio of [S^2-]/[Zn^2＋] on particle size and photoluminescence （PL） of ZnS：Mn^2＋ nanocrystMs. By changing the [S^2-]/[Zn^2＋] ratio from 0.6 （Zn-rich） to 2.0 （S-rich）, the particle size increases from nearly 2. 7nm to about 4.Ohm. The increase in the ratio of [S^2-]/[Zn^2＋] cadses a decrease of PL emission intensity of ZnS host while a distinct increase of Mn^2＋ emission. The maximum intensity for the luminescence of Mn^2＋ emission is observed at the ratio of [S^2-]/[Zn^2＋] ≈ 1.5. The possible mechanism for the results is discussed by filling of S^2- vacancies and the increase of Mn^2＋ ions incorporated into ZnS lattices.