Effect of pressure annealing on formation of light-emitting Si nanocrystals in Si rich SiO 2

G. A. Kachurin, S. G. Cherkova, D. V. Marin, A. Misiuk, Z. S. Yanovitskaya, J. Jedrzejewsky, I. Balberg

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Four types of Si rich SiO 2 layers on the Si substrates have been prepared by Si ion implantation or by magnetron cosputtering of the Si and SiO 2 targets. The types differed from each other in the contents of excess Si, which were about 5 at%, 15 at%, 25 at% and 35 at%. High temperature (up to 1100 °C) anneals of the samples were performed in neutral ambient under normal or elevated (up to 1.5 GPa) hydrostatic pressures. Photoluminescence spectroscopy, Raman scattering and electron diffraction were used for the characterizations. For the lowest concentration of the excess Si the highpressure annealing prevents the formation of the lightemitting Si nanocrystals, but stimulates an appearance of the centers luminescing in the visible range. These centers are believed to be numerous Si nanoclusters, segregated from the oxide network. Increase in Si content provides during the high-pressure anneals the formation of the quantum-size Si nanocrystals able to emit strong PL near the wavelength of 800 nm. The effect of the high-pressure annealing is ascribed to the enhanced energetically favorable segregation of Si from the oxide network.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)78-83
Number of pages6
JournalPhysica Status Solidi (A) Applications and Materials Science
Volume206
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2009

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Effect of pressure annealing on formation of light-emitting Si nanocrystals in Si rich SiO 2'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this