Photoluminescence and electroluminescence of size-controlled silicon nanocrystallites embedded in SiO2 thin films

O. Jambois (1) , H. Rinnert (1) , X. Devaux (1) , M. Vergnat (1)

1 LPM - Laboratoire de physique des matériaux

Silicon nanocrystallites ͑nc-Si͒ were obtained by thermal annealing treatments of SiO / SiO 2 multilayers, prepared by evaporation. The nc-Si size was controlled by the SiO thickness. In this study the SiO 2 thickness was maintained at 5 nm and the SiO thickness was varied from 2 to 6 nm. The film's microstructure was studied by transmission electron microscopy. A strong photoluminescence was obtained in the visible range which corresponds to the radiative recombination of electron-hole pairs in the nc-Si. The electroluminescence signal is weaker and broader than the photoluminescence one. A model taking into account SiO 2 defects and nc-Si is proposed to explain the electroluminescence results.

Domaines: Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]

O. Jambois, H. Rinnert, X. Devaux, M. Vergnat. Photoluminescence and electroluminescence of size-controlled silicon nanocrystallites embedded in SiO2 thin films. Journal of Applied Physics, 2005, 98 (4), pp.046105. ⟨10.1063/1.2034087⟩. ⟨hal-02164227⟩