Silicon nanoclusters selectively generated by laser ablation in supercritical fluid

A novel method for generating nanomaterials is developed by performing laser ablation of silicon crystals in supercritical fluid. The method is shown to successfully generate silicon nanoclusters, and to allow for the selective generation of clusters having different electronic structures. This selective fabrication enables us to obtain the nanoclusters via a dry process, by changing only the fluid density and/or temperature when ablation is performed. The experimental procedures are not highly specialized, and a variety of researchers unfamiliar with wet chemical processes are able to obtain nanoclusters with different properties in only a few minutes. This new method can also be used to selectively obtain other semiconductor or metal nanomaterials with different properties.