Synthesis of Si-based nanoparticles by atmospheric-pressure microplasma

A microplasma reactor for generating group IV nanoparticles (e.g. Si, SiC etc.) in atmospheric pressure has been prepared. The plasma is generated by 13.6 MHz radio frequency source using He and Ar as buffer gases and a range of gaseous and liquid precursors such as silane or tetramethilsilane. The electrical and optical properties of the plasma have been explored by RF IV-probe and optical emission spectroscopy (OES) demonstrating the existence of stable atmospheric plasma with dimension less than 1 mm to a few millimeters. The plasma parameters including gas temperature, electron density and temperature have been calculated using the results from OES measurements. Additionally, the effect of varying other parameters such as; reactor configuration, delivered power and gas flow has been explored. Thus plasma diagnostics have been used to understand the nanoparticle formation mechanism in this specific type of plasma. The produced Si-based nanoparticles are characterized by several tools including UV-Visible absorption spectroscopy, Fourier Transform Infra-red spectroscopy, Raman-spectroscopy and photoluminescence.