Luminescence of silicon nitride films implanted with nitrogen ions

Abstract

Photoluminescence and electron paramagnetic resonance of LPCVD silicon nitride films implanted with nitrogen ions and annealed at 800 and 1200 °C were studied. It was shown for the initial nitride film that rapid thermal annealing for 3 min at 800 °C leads to a decrease in the luminescence signal, while annealing at 1200 °C leads to an increase in the luminescence intensity in the blue-green region. Implantation of nitrogen ions leads to complete quenching of the luminescence signal, which is most likely due to radiation damage. However, a preliminary nitrogen implantation with a fluence of 1 × 1016 cm−2 followed by annealing at 1200 °C enhances the luminescence in the blue-green region. It confirms the contribution of amorphous silicon nitride intrinsic defects (N-centers) to the luminescence in the high-energy region of the spectrum.