Innovative next-generation materials

Metasilicon: Direct synthesis and assembly of nanosilicon particles and composites for optical metamaterials

Nanosilicon has emerged as the photonic component of materials for optics and could potentially replace the classical plasmonic nanoparticles: gold, silver and copper. Fabrication methods for pure silicon nanoparticles have been developed, however the morphology, dispersity and crystallinity cannot be simultaneously controlled. Moreover, nanocomposites and nanoalloys containing silicon are lacking in number and are disappointing in the achievable morphologies. Thus current synthetic techniques do not meet the desired criteria for nanosilicon.

The objectives of METASILICON are to examine novel bottom-up synthetic approaches to silicon nanoparticles which control the size (75-500 nm), polydispersity, crystallinity and morphology. These nanoparticles will then be assembled into thin films and microfluidic channels to create optical materials.