Charge transfer of single laser crystallized intrinsic and phosphorus-doped Si-nanocrystals visualized by Kelvin probe force microscopy

Abstract

Isolated intrinsic and phosphorus doped (P-doped) Si-nanocrystals (Si-NCs) on n- and p-Si substrates are fabricated by excimer laser crystallization techniques. The formation of Si-NCs is confirmed by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and conductive AFM measurements. Kelvin probe force microscopy (KPFM) is then carried out to visualize the trapped charges in a single Si-NC dot which derives from the charge transfer between Si-NCs and Si substrates due to their different Fermi levels. The laser crystallized P-doped Si-NCs have a similar Fermi level around the mid-gap to the intrinsic counterparts, which might be caused by the inactivated impurity atoms or the surface states-related Fermi level pinning. A clear rise of the Fermi level in P-doped Si-NCs is observed after a short time thermal annealing treatment, indicating the activation of dopants in Si-NCs. Moreover, the surface charge quantity can be estimated using a simple parallel plate capacitor model for a quantitative understanding of the KPFM results at the nanoscale.