Aging of Silicon Nanocrystals on Elastomer Substrates: Photoluminescence Effects

Nanocrystalline silicon is widely known as an efficient and tunable optical emitter and is attracting great interest for applications such as light-emitting devices (LEDs), electronic displays, sensors, and solar-photovoltaics. To date, however, luminescent silicon nanocrystals have been used exclusively in traditional rigid devices, leaving a gap in knowledge regarding how they behave on elastomeric substrates. The present study shows how the optical and structural/morphological properties of plasma-synthesized silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) change when they are deposited on stretchable substrates made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). Our results indicate that SiNCs deposited directly from the gas phase onto PDMS exhibit morphological changes, as well as modified aging characteristics due to enhanced oxidation. These results begin to fill the knowledge gap and point to the potential of using luminescent SiNC layers for flexible and stretchable electronics such as LEDs, displays, and sensors.