Luminescent Silicon Nanowires for Light-Harvesting and Environmental Sensing Applications

¹ Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Biologiche, Farmaceutiche, ed Ambientali, Università Degli Studi di Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres, 98166 Messina, Italy
² Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy
³ CNR-IMM UoS Catania, Istituto per la Microelettronica e Microsistemi, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy
⁴ Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Viale delle Scienze Ed.9, 90128 Palermo, Italy
⁵ CNR-IMM UoS Catania, Via Santa Sofia 64, 95123 Catania, Italy
⁶ URT LAB SENS, Beyond Nano—CNR, c/o Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, Viale Ferdinando Stagno d’Alcontres 5, 98166 Messina, Italy

^* Corresponding author: dario.morganti@unime.it

Published online: 18 October 2023

Abstract

Silicon nanowires (Si NWs) represent one of the most promising platforms to be integrated into modern nanodevices. The fabrication of a dense array of vertically aligned ultrathin Si NWs using a low-cost, maskless approach and compatible with Si technology will be here demonstrated. Si NWs with efficient light emission at room temperature (RT) represent a great advance industry, paving the way for a wide range of unexpected photonic applications. In this work I will show the realization of a new hybrid material based on the luminescence of Si NWs and two different dyes for light-harvesting antennas applications, without any surface functionalization and with energy transfer efficiencies higher than 90%. The luminescence of Si NWs has also been used for sensing applications by the realization of highly sensitive sensors for the detecting of low concentrations of toxic gases. These sensors allow the detection of toxic gases below the threshold limits for human health, through both optical and electrical transduction. The achievement of light emission from silicon-based materials represents a revolution in the industrial field, as it paves the way for new Si applications.