Si nanocrystals obtained through polymer pyrolysis

In this letter, we report the formation of bulk samples of silica-based glass containing Si nanocrystals (Si-ncs) by pyrolysis of a preceramic precursor. The starting precursor is a sol-gel-derived polysiloxane containing only Si-H groups which leads, after annealing in a controlled atmosphere in the range 1000-1200 degreesC, to the precipitation of Si-ncs. Characterization of the nanostructure was performed by x-ray diffraction and Raman scattering analyses. Room-temperature luminescence experiments show the interesting optical properties of the Si-ncs/SiO2 material. (C) 2003 American Institute of Physics.