Abstract
Silicon (Si) and silicon carbide (SiC) nanoparticles embedded in an amorphous matrix of SiOxCy were grown using a very safe and economic precursor, tetra-ethyl orthosilicate (TEOS-(Si(OC2H5)4)) by an organic catalytic chemical vapor deposition technique (O-Cat-CVD) at a relatively low filament temperature of 1700 °C and a substrate temperature of 300 °C. These crystalline nanoparticles were generated during the growth process in the thin film matrix, without the need for any post-annealing treatment. Morphology and crystalline phase identification of the nanoparticles were studied using Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) respectively. X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) revealed the presence of Si, O, C presence in the matrix and additionally different bonding peaks such as SiOSi rocking, SiC stretching, SiH bending, SiOH, SiOSi antisymmetric stretching, SiCH3 bending, CC and CH modes confirmed the formation of SiOxCy matrix. Optical studies were carried out using the photoluminescence spectroscopy, and broad, intense visible emission was observed from the sample.Further, investigation of the luminescence mechanism was carried out using the time-resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) and low-temperature photoluminescence (LTPL). The decay time was found in the order of few nanoseconds, which remarked that the emission is mainly from the radiative recombination inside the Si and SiC nanoparticles embedded in SiOxCy matrix and was attributed to the quantum confinement effect (Q.C.E). Additional, measurements were carried out by varying the laser pump power, and two extreme powers (low pump power, 2 mW, and high pump power, 30 mW) were used to find their impact on the emission. As in overall, the emission found in the present study can be used to develop potential applications such as LED, the third generation of solar cells among others.
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