L. Tsybeskov

Nanocrystalline-silicon superlattice produced by controlled recrystallization

Nanocrystalline-silicon superlattices are produced by controlled recrystallization of amorphous-Si/SiO2 multilayers. The recrystallization is performed by a two-step procedure: rapid thermal annealing at 600–1000 °C, and furnace annealing at 1050 °C. Transmission electron microscopy, Raman scattering, x-ray and electron diffraction, and photoluminescence spectroscopy show an ordered structure with Si nanocrystals confined between SiO2 layers. The size of the Si nanocrystals is limited by the thickness of the a-Si layer, the shape is nearly spherical, and the orientation is random. The luminescence from the nc-Si superlattices is demonstrated and studied.

Ordering and self-organization in nanocrystalline silicon

The spontaneous formation of organized nanocrystals in semiconductors has been observed during heteroepitaxial growth and chemical synthesis. The ability to fabricate size-controlled silicon nanocrystals encapsulated by insulating SiO2 would be of significant interest to the microelectronics industry. But reproducible manufacture of such crystals is hampered by the amorphous nature of SiO2 and the differing thermal expansion coefficients of the two materials. Previous attempts to fabricate Si nanocrystals failed to achieve control over their shape and crystallographic orientation, the latter property being important in systems such as Si quantum dots. Here we report the self-organization of Si nanocrystals larger than 80 Å into brick-shaped crystallites oriented along the 〈111〉 crystallographic direction. The nanocrystals are formed by the solid-phase crystallization of nanometre-thick layers of amorphous Si confined between SiO2 layers. The shape and orientation of the crystallites results in relatively narrow photoluminescence, whereas isotropic particles produce qualitatively different, broad light emission. Our results should aid the development of maskless, reproducible Si nanofabrication techniques.

Thermal crystallization of amorphous Si/SiO2 superlattices

Annealing of amorphous Si/SiO2 superlattices produces Si nanocrystals. The crystallization has been studied by transmission electron microscopy and x-ray analysis. For a Si layer thinner than 7 nm, nearly perfect nanocrystals are found. For thicker layers, growth faults and dislocations exist. Decreasing the a-Si layer thickness increases the inhomogeneous strain by one order of magnitude. The origin of the strain in the crystallized structure is discussed. The crystallization temperature increases rapidly with decreasing a-Si layer thickness. An empirical model that takes into account the Si layer thickness, the Si/SiO2 interface range, and a material specific constant has been developed.

Stable and efficient electroluminescence from a porous silicon‐based bipolar device

A complete process compatible with conventional Si technology has been developed in order to produce a bipolar light‐emitting device. This device consists of a layer of light‐emitting porous silicon annealed at high temperature (800–900 °C) sandwiched between a p‐type Si wafer and a highly doped (n+) polycrystalline Si film. The properties of the electroluminescence (EL) strongly depend on the annealing conditions. Under direct bias, EL is detected at voltages of ∼2 V and current densities J∼1 mA/cm2. The maximum EL intensity is 1 mW/cm2 and the EL can be modulated by a square wave current pulse with frequencies ν≥1 MHz. No degradation has been observed during 1 month of pulsed operation.

Correlation between photoluminescence and surface species in porous silicon: Low‐temperature annealing

Photoluminescence (PL) and Fourier‐transform infrared (FTIR) measurements have been performed on light‐emitting porous silicon (LEPSi) after annealing at temperatures below 600 °C. Two different kinds of samples with different surface morphologies and different initial concentrations of chemically bonded hydrogen were studied. In hydrogen‐rich samples we have observed an increase of PL intensity at temperatures up to 250 °C, which correlated with an increase of Si—H bond concentration. A correlation between PL peak wavelength and the ratio of Si—O bonds over Si—H bonds has been demonstrated.

How methanol affects the surface of blue and red emitting porous silicon

The effects of liquid methanol on the photoluminescence intensity and FTIR spectra of red and blue emitting porous silicon were investigated. Hydrogen passivated red emitting samples exhibit quenching and recovery of photoluminescence intensity and broadening of the Si‐Hx stretch bands upon exposure to liquid methanol. Oxygen passivated red emitting samples exhibit no photoluminescence quenching. The sensitivity of the red emitting sample is due to the microstructure of porous silicon at the surface and the ability of methanol to penetrate the pores. The blue photoluminescence of thermally oxidized samples is quenched upon exposure to methanol. This is attributed to the solvent’s ability to change the surface passivation which modifies existing traps and introduces competitive recombination channels for electrons.

Photoluminescence and electroluminescence in partially oxidized porous silicon

Abstract The results of photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) studies from partially oxidized porous silicon (POPS) layers are presented. The PL from POPS is stable, peaks at 600-570 nm and its temperature dependence can be fitted by an exponential law with an activation energy Ea ≈ 10 meV. The current-voltage characteristics of Au-(POPS)-crystalline silicon (c-Si) structures follow a power law I ≈ Vn. When the index n becomes higher than 2, electroluminescence (EL) is found. The EL peaks at 760 nm and is stable for more than 100 hours of operation. The intensity of the EL is a linear function of current for all measured structures up to current density J ≈ 1 A/cm2. Our results suggest that partially oxidized porous silicon is more useful for device applications than freshly anodized porous silicon which has unstable properties or than fully oxidized porous silicon in which transport is poor.

Preparation and characterization of ultrathin porous silicon films

Light emitting porous silicon thin films with thicknesses from ∼0.1 to ∼100 μm were produced by electrochemical etching and subsequently lifted off the silicon wafer by an electropolishing step. The structural integrity of the thinner layers was maintained by deposition on sapphire windows where they remain attached by van der Waals or electrostatic forces. The procedure for manufacturing high quality layers and their structural and optical properties is discussed.

Nanocrystalline Silicon for Optoelectronic Applications

Light emission in silicon has been intensively investigated since the 1950s when crystalline silicon (c-Si) was recognized as the dominant material in microelectronics. Silicon is an indirect-bandgap semiconductor and momentum conservation requires phonon assistance in radiative electron-hole recombination (Figure 1a, top left). Because phonons carry a momentum and an energy, the typical signature of phonon-assisted recombination is several peaks in the photoluminescence (PL) spectra at low temperature. These PL peaks are called “phonon replicas.” High-purity c-Si PL is caused by free-exciton self-annihilation with the exciton binding energy of ~11 meV. The TO-phonon contribution in conservation processes is most significant, and the main PL peak (~1.1 eV) is shifted from the bandgap value (~1.17 eV) by ~70 meV—that is, the exciton binding energy plus TO-phonon energy (Figure 1a).

ROOM-TEMPERATURE PHOTOLUMINESCENCE AND ELECTROLUMINESCENCE FROM ER-DOPED SILICON-RICH SILICON OXIDE

Porous silicon was doped by Er ions using electroplating and was converted to silicon-rich silicon oxide (SRSO) by partial thermal oxidation at 900 °C. The room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) at ∼1.5 μm is intense and narrow (⩽15 meV) and decreases by less than 50% from 12 to 300 K. The PL spectrum reveals no luminescence bands related to Si-bandedge recombination, point defects, or dislocations and shows that the Er3+ centers are the most efficient radiative recombination centers. A light-emitting diode (LED) with an active layer made of Er-doped SRSO (SRSO:Er) was manufactured and room temperature electroluminescence at ∼1.5 μm was demonstrated.