In research that holds promise for eventual commercial applications, researchers from UC Davis and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory have refined a way of making extremely tiny luminescent silicon particles that emit faster, stronger light than previously reported with other methods. Prepared in this case in a liquid suspension, the nano-sized clusters of silicon glow when zapped with an electron or photon. Scientists hope someday to harness the light for better color flat-panel and three-dimensional displays, light-emitting diodes and miniature lasers, as well as for optical switching in high-speed computers and telecommunications equipment. At the recent Materials Research Society meeting, the researchers reported advances in a simplified-materials production process and better characterization of the structures and luminescent properties of silicon nanoclusters.