Semiconducting ferroelectric SbSI quantum dots in organically modified TiO2 matrix

Semiconducting ferro electric antimony sulphoiodide (SbSI) microcrystallite doped organically modified TiO2 thin film and bulk solids are successfully fabricated by the sol- gel process. Ferro electric SbSI crystallites have some attractive properties, including high dielectric permittivity, high electro-optical coefficient and high photoconductivity. SbSI is also an intrinsic semiconductor with a relatively narrow energy gap. If the crystal size is near its Bohr radius and the microcrystallites are dispersed in a suitable matrix, a dramatic improvement of the third order non linearity will be achieved due to the quantum confinement effect. It is clear that the SbSI quantum dot composites are good candidates for electro-optical devices. Glycidoxypropyltrimetroxysilane modified TiO2 is used as the matrix and SbSI is synthesized in situ by using SbI3 SC9NH2)2 and H2S gas. The size is controlled by the heat-treatment conditions and is characterized by the XRD and HRTEM measurements. The optical absorption spectrum gives evidence of the quantum confinement effect. The third order susceptibility of the SbSI quantum dot is measured by the degenerate four wave mixing method.