Laser Based Methods for Photoluminescence Enhancement of Silicon Nanocrystals in a Silicon Suboxide Matrix

Silicon nanocrystals (Si-Nc) are a promising candidate to overcome the limited use of silicon in photonic applications due to the indirect bandgap of bulk silicon. An increase in the radiative emission rate is, however, essential for practical application as active elements. Laser-based methods for enhancing the photoluminescence (PL) of Si-Nc inside a silicon suboxide layer
$(\text{SiO}_{\mathrm{x}},\mathrm{x}\approx 1)$
on fused silica are reported here.