Nanocrystals for Novel Light Sources

Conventional light sources waste the majority of electrical energy in terms of heat (fluorescent lamps up to 75%, incandescent lamps up to 95%). Solid-state light sources, such as light emitting diodes, have been shown to be capable of significantly higher energy efficiency. Since 20% of the electricity of the U.S. is expanded in lighting applications, development of efficient solid-state light sources can result in significant energy savings. Our group is involved in the development of light sources based on semiconductor nanoparticles, so called quantum dots. We pursue silicon for its low toxicity and environmental compatibility, compared to other quantum dot materials, and other direct band gap semiconductors.

Representative publications:

“High-Yield Scaleable Plasma Synthesis of Luminescent Silicon Nanocrystals,” L. Mangolini, E. Thimsen and U. Kortshagen, NanoLetters, DOI: 10.1021/nl050066y.

UMN News: Shining a new light on silicon, by Rick Moore

Photoluminescence of silicon quantum dots deposited on quartz tubes. The radiation is excited by a UV lamp.