Patent ID: 8585927

Claim:
Semiconductor-nanoparticle-dispersed small glass particles comprising small silica glass particles comprising a hydrolyzed alkoxide and having a mean particle size of not less than 10 nanometers and not more than 5 micrometers; and semiconductor nanoparticles dispersed in the small silica glass particles in a concentration of not less than 2×10 −5 mol/l and not more than 4×10 −3 mol/l, the semiconductor-nanoparticle-dispersed small glass particles emitting fluorescent light with a fluorescence quantum yield (quantum efficiency) of 35% or more, when dispersed in a solution, wherein the mean particle size of the semiconductor particles is 2 nm or more, and wherein the semiconductor-nanoparticle-dispersed small glass particles contain more than one semiconductor nanoparticle per small silica glass particle on the average.