Blue, Yellow-Green and Red Simultaneous Emission from SiO2 Matrices Co-Implanted with Si and C

Abstract

AbstractDual Si+C implantations at high doses (3×1017 cm−2) were performed in thermal SiO2 layers. The C implantation energy was fixed at 60 keV while the Si ones were performed at different energies (150 keV and 60 keV) with the aim of synthetizing carbon rich luminescent centers. Annealings up to 1100 °C were performed in an inert N2 atmosphere either for short times in a rapid thermal processing furnace and up to two hours in a conventional furnace. Evidence of the formation of silicon and carbon-rich clusters was provided by XPS, SIMS, Raman and TEM experiments. Photoluminescence experiments under blue and ultraviolet excitations showed intense emission bands peaking at 1.5–1.7 eV (red), 2.20 eV (yellowgreen) and 2.75 eV (blue). The relative intensity and spectral shape of the emission bands was found to depend strongly upon implantation and annealing conditions and offered the possibility of tuning the desired dominant emission wavelength. The possible formation of SiC clusters and even SiC crystallites at the SiO2/Si interface could explain the origin of the highly intense blue emission band found for these samples.