Structural properties of silicon nanoparticles formed by pulsed laser ablation in liquid media

Silicon nanoparticles have been formed as a result of the irradiation of single-crystal silicon targets in distilled water and liquid nitrogen, by, respectively, picosecond and femtosecond laser pulses. The main structural properties of these nanoparticles have been investigated by atomic force microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, electron diffraction, Raman scattering, and photoluminescence spectroscopy. These particles are found to be mainly spherical. The presence of crystalline and amorphous silicon phases under picosecond ablation in water is established experimentally. Irradiation by femtosecond pulses in liquid nitrogen can yield nanoparticles smaller than 5 nm in size, which are quantum dots with a characteristic photoluminescence peak near 750 nm.