Whispering gallery modes in hollow cylindrical microcavities containing silicon nanocrystals

Abstract

A straightforward and inexpensive solution-based method to coat cylindrical microcavities with silicon nanocrystals is described. By using this method, high-quality films of oxide-embedded silicon nanocrystals (Si-ncs) were formed on the inner wall of hollow glass fibers. The resulting films were uniform and crack-free over lengths of 2–3cm and were strongly luminescent due to the presence of well-passivated Si-ncs. The optical confinement provided by the film gave rise to resonant modes in the photoluminescence spectrum, with high-quality factors compared to Si-ncs in planar microcavities or microdisks or coated on glass spheres.