Patterned growth of nanocrystalline silicon thinfilms through magnesiothermic reduction of soda lime glass
Wong, D-P, Lien H-T, Chen Y-T, Chen K-H, Chen L-C.
Green Chemistry. 14:896-900. (2012)
A low-cost and green method of producing nanocrystalline silicon thin films is presented. Using a magnesiothermic reduction process, we have successfully converted the surface
of soda lime glass directly into silicon thinfilm. Furthermore, by varying reaction time, the amount of silicon produced in thin film form (or layer thickness) can be controlled. The
nanocrystalline silicon thinfilms on glass were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive spec-troscopy and Raman spectroscopy. Finally, the optical pro-perties of the thinfilms derived at different reaction times were also measured. The band gaps of the synthesized thin films were within the range of 2.3–2.5 eV.