Abstract
In this study, we introduce a thin nickel interlayer to enhance the phase separation andsilicon nanocrystal (Si-NC) growth in Si-rich silica films. Through TEM analysis, it isobserved that the Si-NC density in the sample with a Ni interlayer is 2.6 times higher thanthat of the sample without Ni after high temperature annealing. The photoluminescence(PL) spectrum of the sample with a Ni interlayer is 2–5 times stronger than theone without Ni according to different silicon excess. By analysing the samplesafter rapid thermal annealing (RTA) with Fourier transform infrared absorption(FTIR), we find that nickel can induce phase separation in Si-rich silica filmsduring annealing. Thermodynamic and kinetic analysis indicates a reduction of31.4 kJ mol−1 in the Si-NC nucleation activation free energy by adding the nickel interlayer, whichsubsequently results in higher Si-NC density.
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