We exploit the capabilities of plasma to produce advanced materials for several applications ranging from solar cells to advanced nanostructured materials to be integrated in state of the art devices. High density plasmas are particularly suitable for low temperature applications on flexible and low cost substrates being possible to deposit at temperature so low as 100°C layers with excellent electro-optical properties. The plasma technology is particularly appreciated for its compatibility with device production lines and its flexibility in terms of throughput. It is actually possible to prepare Si based and C based materials, eventually doped with P or B, like a-Si but also a-SiC and oxynitrides/oxycarbide SiOxNyCz. Most common applications of these materials are photovoltaic devices and thin film transistors.

Moreover, depending on the pressure in the chamber, also nanocrystals are synthesized. These large nanocsyrtals in the 100nm range and are excellent light traps and scattering centres. Thick layers of these nanoparticles show very intense photolumescence.

Contact person: Giovanni Mannino (giovanni.mannino@imm.cnr.it)