Quantum confinement in nanometer-sized silicon crystallites

Nanoscale optical probes for cellular imaging

Nanomaterials with unique optical properties have shown great promise as probes for cellular imaging. Based on these properties, a wide range of plasmonic, fluorescent and Raman probes have been designed and prepared. Nanomaterials of different sizes and shapes have also been functionalized with various types of biomolecules, such as antibodies, DNA or RNA, which are actively exploited to realize targeted imaging. In this review, we will summarize recent advances in using functional nanomaterials for imaging, primarily cellular imaging. These nanomaterials are categorized based on their conducting properties, i.e. conductors, semiconductors and insulators.

Crystalline Ge quantum dots embedded in SiO2 matrix synthesized by plasma immersion ion implantation

A new plasma process, i.e. a combination of plasma immersion ion implantation and deposition (PIII&D) and high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS), was developed to implant non-gaseous ions into material surfaces. The new process has the great advantage that thin film deposition and non-gaseous ion implantation can be achieved in a single plasma chamber. In this study, Ge ions were successfully implanted into SiO(2) thin film, which resulted in uniformly and homogeneously distributed crystalline Ge quantum dots (Ge-QDs) embedded in a SiO(2) matrix even without a further annealing process. Broader areas of application of PIII&D technology are envisaged with this newly developed process.