Optical Properties of Silicon Nanoparticles Produced by Nd:YAG Laser Ablation

Abstract

Silicon nanoparticles films have been fabricated by laser ablation process using pulsed Nd:YAG laser. Various laser parameters were examined to produce films of different properties such as the laser energy, laser fluence, and the target-substrate distance. The experimental results have been fitted with the theoretical quantum confinement model to analyze the photoluminescence spectra and estimate the nanoparticle sizes and their distribution. From the optical transmission studies, we found that the band gap of the prepared nanostructured films was in the range (1.5-2.4)eV due to the existence of various nanoparticle sizes in the deposited film. Furthermore, the photoluminescence PL spectra indicate that the estimated band gap lies between (1.6-2.4)eV. While, the corresponding nanoparticle sizes contributing the PL emission were in the range (22-38)Å.