Abstract
Silicon nanocrystals (Si-NCs) were grown in situ in carbide-based film using a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition method. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy indicates that these nanocrystallites were embedded in an amorphous silicon carbide-based matrix. Electron diffraction pattern analyses revealed that the crystallites have a hexagonal-wurtzite silicon phase structure. The peak position of the photoluminescence can be controlled within a wavelength of 500 to 650 nm by adjusting the flow rate of the silane gas. We suggest that this phenomenon is attributed to the quantum confinement effect of hexagonal Si-NCs in silicon carbide-based film with a change in the sizes and emission states of the NCs.
Highlights
Silicon-related low-dimensional structures such as Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) have shown great potential in the development of next-generation devices
These quantum properties of Si-NCs have the greatest impact when they are embedded in a wide-gap dielectric matrix, the structure of which is quite intriguing in the field of Si optoelectronics and third-generation photovoltaics [4,5]
Most of the Si-NCs are in a crystalline state, as evidenced by the lattice fringe shown in the high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image as well as from the spotty pattern shown in the selected area of electron diffraction from one of the crystallites (Figure 1b)
Summary
Silicon-related low-dimensional structures such as Si nanocrystals (Si-NCs) have shown great potential in the development of next-generation devices. When Si-NCs are made smaller than the free-exciton Bohr radius of bulk Si, they behave as quantum dots [1,2,3] with various energy states that can be tuned using carrier confinement in all three dimensions. These quantum properties of Si-NCs have the greatest impact when they are embedded in a wide-gap dielectric matrix, the structure of which is quite intriguing in the field of Si optoelectronics and third-generation photovoltaics [4,5]. One such advantage is a lower barrier height caused by a lower bandgap of Si carbide
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