Interfacial and Network Characteristics of Silicon Nanoparticle Layers Used in Printed Electronics

In printed electronics the use of semiconducting silicon nanoparticles allows more than the simple printing of conductive materials. It gives the possibility of fabricating robust and inexpensive, active and reactive components like temperature sensors which are shown as an example. In our approach high quality silicon nanoparticles with stable, essentially oxide-free surfaces are used to replace the pigment in water-based graphic inks, which on curing have unique semiconducting properties, arising from the transport of charge through a percolation network of crystalline silicon nanoparticles. In this study scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) were employed to investigate the mesoscale structure of the particle network and, more importantly the structure of the interface between particles. An intimate contact between lattice planes of different particles was observed, without the presence of an intervening oxide layer. (C) 2013 The Japan Society of Applied Physics