Date of Award
2019
Publisher
North Dakota State University
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Awarded
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Program
Materials and Nanotechnology
Department
Materials and Nanotechnology
College
Interdisciplinary Studies
Faculty Advisor
Hobbie, Erik
Description
In this report we establish cyclohexasilane (CHS) as a reliable precursor for non-thermal plasma synthesis of high quality photoluminescent silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs). We demonstrate that this synthesis approach can produce high quality, size tunable silicon quantum dots with quantum yields exceeding 60% as synthesized (subsequent work in our group has measured over 70% quantum yield after density gradient ultracentrifugation size purification).After a brief background on non-thermal plasma synthesis, the characterization methods used in this study, and an overview of CHS, we report at length on our development of the apparatus used, and our exploration of the controllable processing parameters of the synthesis method. We describe our successes and challenges with size tuning, sample collection, and passivation. Finally, we discuss preliminary studies we performed to identify promising future research areas. Novel reactor designs, blue light passivation, and magnetic confinement of plasma are described briefly to entice future researchers.
Recommended Citation
Pringle, Todd Andrew, "Non-Thermal Plasma Synthesis of Luminescent Silicon Nanocrystals from Cylclohexasilane" (2019). Materials and Nanotechnology. 6.
https://digitalcommons.ndsu.edu/materials-nanotechnology/6
Rights
NDSU policy 190.6.2
Rights Link
https://www.ndsu.edu/fileadmin/policy/190.pdf
Handle Identifier
https://hdl.handle.net/10365/31690