Upcoming Events
Nano Silicon-based Thin Film Photodetector with Visible Blindness
November 7, 2012 11:00AM to 12:00PM
Presenter
Munir Nayfeh, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Location
Building 362, Room F108
Type
Seminar
Series
Abstract:
We have been studying miniaturization of silicon crystals using electrochemical etching. We demonstrated the existence of “sweet spots” in cluster size in the range 1-3 nm (1, 1.7, 2.1, 2.9 nm). Unlike their bulk predecessor, these Si nanoparticles have a spectacular ability to glow in distinct RGB colors and enable novel chemical, electronics and photonics applications, including electrochemical sensors, catalysts, charge-based nano memory, supercapacitors, photovoltaic solar cells, and UV photodetectors.
We have been studying miniaturization of silicon crystals using electrochemical etching. We demonstrated the existence of “sweet spots” in cluster size in the range 1-3 nm (1, 1.7, 2.1, 2.9 nm). Unlike their bulk predecessor, these Si nanoparticles have a spectacular ability to glow in distinct RGB colors and enable novel chemical, electronics and photonics applications, including electrochemical sensors, catalysts, charge-based nano memory, supercapacitors, photovoltaic solar cells, and UV photodetectors.
The particles are produced as dispersion in liquid, and can be reconstituted in films, patterns, alloys, or spread on chips according to the application. In this talk, the synthesis procedure and the basic characteristics of the nanomaterial will be presented. We will focus on their use in UV photodetection whereby a thin film effectively constitutes a wide-bandgap material, providing sensitive UV detection with good visible blindness.