Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 10, 2026

Gold Nanoparticle Synthesis
Published on: July 10, 2021
Momentum-Enabled Near-Infrared Luminescence in Silicon Decorated with Ultrasmall Gold Nanoparticles
Hovhannes Badalyan1, Astghik Hovhannisyan2, Arevik Arestakyan1
1A. I. Alikhanyan National Science Laboratory (Yerevan Physics Institute), 2 Alikhanyan Brothers, Yerevan 0036, Armenia.
Abstract:
Silicon's indirect bandgap limits near-infrared (NIR) emission, restricting its photonic applications. We report experimental evidence that ultrasmall (1.8 nm) gold nanoparticles enable momentum-assisted NIR light emission from bulk silicon. The medium provides the additional momentum necessary for indirect optical transitions through optically induced polarization currents. This leads to a new absorption edge near 950 nm and strong NIR luminescence around 855 nm, opening new opportunities for silicon-based NIR photonics.
Related Concept Videos
Force and Momentum
Linear Momentum
Angular Momentum
Moment-of-Momentum Equation
Impulse-Momentum Theorem
By writing Newton's second law of motion in terms of the momentum of an object and the external force acting on it, and simultaneously using the definition of the impulse vector, it can be shown that the total impulse on an object is equal to its...
Conservation of Momentum: Introduction

