Blue Luminescence from Silicon Nanoparticles Suspended in Organic Liquids

We have prepared several nanometer-sized silicon colloids in organic liquids in the range from 3.7 to 9.8 nm with a constant weight density of 1 mg/ml by a gas evaporation technique. The blue–green luminescent energy was found to be independent of size, in contrast to its intensity and optical absorption, which showed a clear size effect. Special emphasis is placed on the advantage of using a colloidal system: controllability of mass density in a unit volume, isolation of each particle, selection of wide band-gap substances, capability of absolute quantum efficiency, and easy surface modification. As an example of the above advantages, we have determined the absolute quantum yield as a function of size. From the quantum yield thus derived and the proposed model that combines surface as well as volume effects, experimentally obtained parameters such as the diffusion velocity of an electron–hole pair and the initial flight distance of this pair are found to be consistent with those obtained from other data.