Optical and structural properties of thin films precipitated from the sol of silicon nanoparticles

A new technique of growing nanocrytalline silicon (nc-Si) thin films is suggested. The technique involves the centrifuge-assisted size-selective deposition of nanoparticles from a colloidal solution (sol) containing nc-Si powders. The structural and optical parameters of the initial nc-Si powders and films deposited by the newly suggested procedure are studied by transmission electron microscopy and analysis of absorption spectra and Raman spectra. The absorption coefficient of the nc-Si films increases with decreasing dimensions of the constituent nanoparticles. The experimentally measured band gap of the films, E _g, is widened from 1.8 to 2.2. eV on etching the nc-Si powders used for deposition of the corresponding films. On the basis of the analysis of the Raman spectra, it is suggested that the amorphous component is involved in the nc-Si powders and films due to oxygen atoms arranged at the nanoparticle surface.