Silicon carbide nanoparticles produced by CO₂ laser pyrolysis of SiH₄/C₂H₂ gas mixtures in a flow reactor

Pulsed CO₂-laser-induced decomposition of different mixtures of SiH₄ and C₂H₂ in a flow reactor has been employed to produce silicon carbide clusters and nanoparticles with varying content of carbon. The as-synthesized species were extracted from the reaction zone by a conical nozzle and expanded into the source chamber of a cluster beam apparatus where, after having traversed a differential chamber, they were analyzed with a time-of-flight mass spectrometer. Thin films of silicon carbide nanoclusters were produced by depositing the clusters at low energy on potassium bromide and sapphire windows mounted into the differential chamber. At the same time, Si and SiC nanoparticles were collected in a filter placed into the exhaust line of the flow reactor. Both beam and powder samples were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy. The close resemblance of the spectra suggests that the composition of the beam and powder particles obtained during the same run is nearly identical. XRD spectroscopy could only be employed for the investigation of the powders. It was found that CO₂ laser pyrolysis is ideally suited to produce silicon carbide nanoparticles with a high degree of crystallinity. Nanopowders produced from the pyrolysis of a stoichiometric (2 : 1) mixture of SiH₄/C₂H₂ were found to contain particles or domains of pure silicon. The characteristic silicon features in the FTIR and XRD spectra, however, disappeared when C₂H₂ was applied in excess.