Nucleation and growth of Si quantum nanocrystals in silicon-rich oxide films

Abstract

The observation of photoluminescence and electroluminescence in Si nanocrystals has generated renewed interest in these novel silicon based materials for their possible application as light emitters and detectors. Silicon Rich Oxide (SRO) films with a uniform dispersion of silicon nanocrystallites in a wider bandgap SiO2 matrix manifest electroluminescence and photoluminescence in the infrared and visible portions of the spectrum. Understanding the nucleation and growth kinetics of these crystallites in amorphous matrix is of critical importance in the fabrication of future optoelectronic devices. One route to the fabrication of Si nanocrystals is by the crystallization of amorphous SiO2-x. Consider the case when x=1. The reaction leading to the formation of Si crystallites can be written as;(1)The nucleation, growth and coarsening processes of Si nanocrystals each require bulk diffusion of Si atoms through the amorphous matrix.