US Patent 7560394 - Silicon nanodot on insulator structure

http://www.freepatentsonline.com/7560394.html

Silicon nanodots or nanocrystals are useful for constructing high efficiency LEDs, lasers, photodetectors, or floating gate memory. However, it is difficult to achieve uniform size and spacing of semiconductor nanodots. This patent from Samsung teaches using an underlying layer of metal nanodots formed in a self-assembled pattern to facilitate the formation of silicon nanodots in a top layer. Claim 1 reads:

1. A nanodot material, comprising:

a silicon substrate;

a plurality of metal dots on the silicon substrate;

a silicon oxide layer on the silicon substrate and having a plurality of stress concentrating regions in locations corresponding to the metal dots; and

a plurality of silicon nanodots on the silicon oxide layer and in locations corresponding to the stress concentrating regions.