A New Pathway for Si Nanocrystal Formation: Oxi-Reduction Induced by Impurity Implantation

Abstract

AbstractIn this work we show the feasibility of producing silicon nanocrystals by means of a new method based on the oxi-reduction of silicon dioxide induced by the presence of an impurity and annealing. The choice of magnesium as the impurity relies on its chemical properties of oxireducing the SiO2 matrix while avoiding the formation of Si-based compounds. The samples were obtained by 3×1016 and 1×1017 at/cm2 ion implantation into fused silicon dioxide followed by annealing in vacuum at 900 °C for 2 or 10 h. Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) characterized the chemical content and the Mg depth distribution. In all cases, photoluminescence measurements that showed a broad band starting around 1.8 eV with increasing emission intensity for lower energies, indicating the presence of Si nanocrystals. The analysis of the photoluminescence data in the framework of the quantum confinement theory suggests the existence of relatively large Si nanocrystals. The presence of these nanocrystals was also confirmed by Raman spectroscopy.