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Fabrication of the first optoelectronic devices based on silicon clathrate films

Researchers from the i-Lum team at INL have successfully fabricated the first functional optoelectronic devices based on silicon clathrate films.

In a recent study, researchers from INL’s i-Lum team, as part of the national “EXOSIL” project in collaboration with the ICube and IPCMS laboratories, successfully fabricated the first optoelectronic device based on silicon clathrate films after improving their properties through a thermal press-annealing process. This exotic material, composed of silicon cages capable of hosting “guest” atoms such as sodium (Na) or lithium (Li), exhibits a direct bandgap of 1.8 eV, making it a promising candidate for various optoelectronic applications. By fabricating p-n junctions from these films for the first time, the researchers demonstrated the feasibility of optoelectronic devices based on silicon clathrates. These results represent a key milestone in the development of new optoelectronic technologies.

Contacts

Charif Tamin
Céline Chevalier

Links

Increasing potential of silicon clathrate films for photovoltaics. pv magazine, 2024.
https://www.pv-magazine.com/2024/09/11/increasing-potential-of-silicon-clathrate-films-for-photovoltaics/

Partnership

ANR Project EXOSIL

ICube UMR 7357 – Laboratoire des sciences de l’ingénieur, de l’informatique et de l’imagerie
IPCMS UMR 7504- Institut de physique et de chimie des matériaux de Strasbourg

Cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy image of silicon clathrates, (right) Schematic of type II silicon clathrates.électronique à balayage de clathrates de silicium, (à droite) Schéma des clathrates de silicium de type II.