Photoluminescence from mechanically milled Si andSiO2spowders

Abstract

The photoluminescence (PL) in as-received and milled Si and SiO2 powder is reported. The Si and SiO2 powder is characterized by chemical analysis, Raman scattering, x-ray photoelectron spectra, infrared absorption, x-ray diffraction, and differential thermal analysis. The results indicate that the Si powder has amorphous Si oxide and suboxide surface layers. The milling of Si powder results in the formation of nanocrystalline/amorphous Si components. An amorphous SiO2 component is formed by milling crystalline SiO2. The PL spectra for as-received Si, milled Si, and SiO2 powder exhibit similar peak shapes, peak maxima, and full width at half maximum values. For both the as-received and the milled Si powder, experimental results appear to exclude mechanisms for PL related to an amorphous Si component or Si-H or Si-OH bonds, or the quantum confinement effect. Similarly, for milled SiO2 powder mechanisms for PL do not appear related to Si-H or Si-OH bonds. Instead the greatly increased intensity of PL for milled SiO2 can be related to both the increased volume fraction of the amorphous SiO2 component and the increased density of defects introduced in the amorphous SiO2 upon milling. It is suggested that the PL for as-received Si, milling-induced nanocrystalline/amorphous Si, and milled SiO2 results from defects, such as the nonbridging oxygen hole center, in the amorphous Si suboxide and/or SiO2 components existing in these powder samples. The PL measurement for milled SiO2 is dependent on air pressure whereas that for as-received SiO2 is not, suggesting that new emitting centers are formed by milling.