The combination of third generation solar cell concepts in second generation thin film materials has been identified as an efficient way to solve the global energy needs. The quantum confinement effects observed from Si nanostructures are promising towards integration in a third generation solar cell such as an 'All-Si tandem cell'. This thesis focuses on understanding the formation of Si quantum dots (i.e Si- nanoparticles) in two kinds of dielectric matrix: SiO2 and Silicon nitride, in monolayer and multilayer (ML) configurations. The advantages of SRSO/SRSN ML over SRSO/SiO2 ML are demonstrated. High density of Si-np (about 1020 Si-np/cm3) and intense emission in visible range are obtained in SRSO/SRSN ML after a short annealing time (1min- 1000°C), which is promising for device applications at a reduced thermal budget. A detailed investigation on emission mechanisms and factors that influence emission is made experimentally and theoretically. Simulations indicate that the density of Si-np and their size are not the only parameters that influence the emission intensity and peak positions. The demonstrated influence of geometrical and optical effects on emission is very important towards proceeding with the next step of device integrations.
