Structural and luminescent properties of silicon nanoparticles incorporated into zirconia matrix

An impact of mechanical stresses on structural and photoluminescent properties of Si nanoparticles (NPs) incorporated into the zirconia thin films is reported. The stresses are found to be responsible for important structural modifications of the NPs. The zirconia matrix doped with the NPs exhibits bright red photoluminescence (PL) at room temperature due to efficient quantum confinement of the photogenerated carriers in the nanoscale Si particles. Spectral position of the PL picks depends on: mean dimension of the NPs, their concentration, stress induced deformation and order degree of the near-surface region. In general, zirconia matrix appears as a robust and reliable host media for Si NPs.