Luminescence simulations of ensembles of silicon nanocrystals

The luminescence of silicon nanocrystals (NCs) has attracted a great deal of interest due to the numerous potential photonic applications of light-emitting silicon. However, the excitation mechanisms and cluster-cluster interactions in densely-packed ensembles, as well as the recombination processes that influence the emission spectrum and lifetime are not yet well understood. In order to generate a more complete picture of the controlling parameters in the luminescence, a dynamic Monte Carlo model that incorporates several key physical processes for luminescent nanocrystal ensembles is developed. The model simulates Forster-type multipole energy transfer, tunnelling interactions, radiative decay and non-radiative trapping in physically realistic (lognormal) distributions of silicon NCs. The results of the simulation illustrate the effects of the NC size distribution, homogeneous and inhomogeneous broadening, NC packing density, and non-radiative trapping on the ensemble luminescence spectrum. (C) 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim