We report on the structural and optical characterization of two-dimensional arrays of silicon nanocrystals (SiNCs) suitable for photovoltaic applications. Single and multiple SiNC layers were grown on quartz by low pressure chemical vapor deposition of Si and subsequent thermal oxidation steps. The single SiNC layers consisted of one SiNC layer embedded in two silicon dioxide (SiO2) layers, whereas the multi-layered structure consisted of five SiNC layers of equal thickness separated by SiO2 layers. SiNC layers with thicknesses ranging from 2 to 25 nm were investigated. A thorough structural characterization of the films was carried out by combining grazing incidence x-ray diffraction, x-ray reflectivity, and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Both XRD and TEM measurements revealed that the SiNC layers were polycrystalline in nature and composed of SiNCs, separated by grain boundaries, with their vertical size equal to the SiNC layer and their lateral size characterized by a narrow size distribution. The high resolution TEM (HRTEM) images showed that oxidation of the SiNC layers proceeded by consumption of Si from their top surface, without any detectable oxidation at the grain boundaries. Only in the case of the thinnest investigated SiNC layer (2 nm), the SiNCs were well separated by SiO2 tunnel barriers. From transmission and reflection optical measurements, energy band gaps of the SiNCs were estimated. These results were correlated with the sizes of the SiNCs obtained by HRTEM. A shift of the estimated band gaps with decreasing SiNC size was observed. This was consistent with quantum size effects in the SiNCs. The film containing the smallest SiNCs (2 nm in the growth direction), besides a significant shift of the absorption edge to higher energies, showed light emission at room temperature which is due to radiative recombination of photo-generated carriers in localized SiNCs separated by SiO2 tunnel barriers.
In this work, the electrical properties of SiO2/SiC interfaces onto a 2°-off axis 4H-SiC layer were studied and validated through the processing and characterization of metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) capacitors. The electrical analyses on the MOS capacitors gave an interface state density in the low 1×1012 eV-1cm-2 range, which results comparable to the standard 4°-off-axis 4H-SiC, currently used for device fabrication. From Fowler-Nordheim analysis and breakdown measurements, a barrier height of 2.9 eV and an oxide breakdown of 10.3 MV/cm were determined. The results demonstrate the maturity of the 2°-off axis material and pave the way for the fabrication of 4H-SiC MOSFET devices on this misorientation angle.
The present work concerns the microstructural characterization of a multi-component (based on GaN and related materials) and multi-layered (5 layers) film, grown on 6H-SiC substrate (with a misorientation of 1 degree off from the (0001) plane), using transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The TEM characterization showed no surface undulation, despite the presence of steps in the SiC/AlN interface.
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