P. K. Kashkarov

Silicon Nanocrystals As Photosensitizers of Active Oxygen for Biomedical Applications

Silicon nanocrystals dispersed in water have been used to photosensitize the generation of active oxygen. The photosensitizing efficiency has been estimated through the quenching of the exciton photoluminescence of silicon nanocrystals. Experiments have revealed a strong (up to 80%) decrease in the number of cancer mouse fibroblast cells when they come into contact with photoexcited silicon nanocrystals. The obtained results show that the use of silicon nanocrystals for biomedical applications, in particular, for photodynamic therapy of cancer, is feasible.

Comparative study of photoluminescence of undoped and erbium-doped size-controlled nanocrystalline Si∕SiO2 multilayered structures

Spectra and transients of the photoluminescence (PL) of undoped and Er-doped size-controlled nanocrystalline Si∕SiO2 multilayered structures with mean nanocrystal size of 1.5–4.5nm have been comparatively investigated. The Er-doped structures exhibit a strong Er-related PL band at 0.81eV, while the efficiency of the intrinsic PL band of Si nanocrystals at 1.2–1.7eV decreases by several orders of magnitude in comparison with the undoped structures. At low temperature the PL spectra of the Er-doped structures show several dips separated by the energy of Si TO-phonon and bound to the transition energies between the second and third excited states to the ground state of Er3+. The Er-related PL is characterized by lifetimes of around 3–5ms, a weak temperature quenching, and a high efficiency, which is comparable or even stronger than that of the intrinsic PL in the corresponding undoped samples. This efficient sensitizing of the Er-related luminescence is explained by the structural properties of the samples, ...

Ultrashort excitations of surface polaritons and waveguide modes in semiconductors

Polarization-dependent structures have been formed on the silicon surface under the action of femtosecond laser pulses. Some model concepts are proposed to describe changes in the response of the semiconductor surface caused by the generation of a nonequilibrium electron-hole plasma and explain the excitation of surface polaritons and waveguide modes during a femtosecond laser pulse.

Highly efficient sensitizing of erbium ion luminescence in size-controlled nanocrystalline Si/SiO2 superlattice structures

Comparative studies of photoluminescence (PL) of undoped and Er-doped size-controlled nanocrystalline Si/SiO2 superlattice structures show that the optical excitation of Si nanocrystals can be completely transferred to the Er3+ ions in surrounding SiO2, resulting in a strong PL line at 1.5 μm. The PL yield of the Er-doped structure increases for higher photon energy of excitation and for smaller nanocrystal sizes. This highly efficient sensitizing of the Er-related PL is explained by a strong coupling between excitons confined in Si nanocrystals and neighboring Er3+ ions in their upper excited states.

Evaporation effect on laser induced solid–liquid phase transitions in CdTe and HgCdTe

Numerical simulation of laser induced phase transitions (melting, solidification, evaporation) in a near-surface region of CdTe and HgCdTe was carried out. The possibility of solidification from the outer surface of the melted layer caused by a vaporization of volatile component (Cd, Hg, etc.) was shown. This allows to explain experimentally observed high defectiveness of the laser-processed layer.

Form birefringence in porous semiconductors and dielectrics: A review

The phenomenon of optical anisotropy in porous semiconductors and dielectrics (porous silicon, gallium phosphide, and alumina) and photonic crystal structures formed on their basis is reviewed. It is shown that anisotropic nanostructuring of initially isotropic media leads to the occurrence of strong birefringence. Applicability of the effective-medium model to description of the form birefringence in porous semiconductors and dielectrics is discussed.

Visible luminescence from hydrogenated amorphous silicon modified by femtosecond laser radiation

Visible luminescence is observed from the composite of SiO2 with embedded silicon nanocrystallites produced by femtosecond laser irradiation of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) film in air. The photoluminescence originates from the defect states at the interface between silicon crystallites and SiO2 matrix. The method could be used for fabrication of luminescent layers to increase energy conversion of a-Si:H solar cells.

Effect of the femtosecond laser treatment of hydrogenated amorphous silicon films on their structural, optical, and photoelectric properties

The effect of the femtosecond laser treatment of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) films on their structural, optical, and photoelectric properties is studied. Under the experimental conditions applied in the study, laser treatment of the film with different radiation intensities induces structural changes that are nonuniform over the film surface. An increase in the radiation intensity yields an increase in the contribution of the nanocrystalline phase to the structure, averaged over the sample surface, as well as an increase in the conductance and photoconductance of the samples. At the same time, for all of the samples, the absorption spectrum obtained by the constant-photocurrent method has a shape typical for those of amorphous silicon. Obtained results indicate the possibility of a-Si:H films photoconductance increase by femtosecond pulse laser treatment.

Generation of the second optical harmonic in porous-silicon-based structures with a photonic band gap

Efficient generation of the second optical harmonic is observed experimentally in a multilayer periodic structure based on porous silicon. The second-harmonic signal is much stronger than the signal from a uniform porous silicon layer or from the single-crystal silicon substrate. The orientational dependence of the second-harmonic signal is isotropic. The second-harmonic intensity as a function of the reflection angle reaches a maximum in the direction corresponding to the minimum phase detuning in a multilayer periodic structure.

Laser-induced defect formation in semiconductors

The electron-deformation-thermal theory of pulsed laser-induced point defect generation in strongly absorbing semiconductors is developed. The theoretical results obtained are in a good agreement with the results of experiments carried out in Ge, GaAs, and GaP.