Nitrogen (15N) and carbon (12C) ion implantations with implant energy of 100 keV for different doses were performed on nanosized diamond (ND) particles. Magnetic measurements on the doped ND show ferromagnetic hysteresis behavior at room temperature. The saturation magnetization (M(s)) in the case of 15N implanted samples was found to be higher compared to the 12C implanted samples for dose sizes greater than 10(14) cm(-2). The role of structural modification or defects along with the carbon-nitrogen (C-N) bonding states for the observed enhanced ferromagnetic ordering in 15N doped samples is explained on the basis of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements.

Above room temperature ferromagnetic behavior is achieved in Si through Mn ion implantation. Threehundred-keV Mn + ions were implanted to 0.1% and 0.8% peak atomic concentrations, yielding a saturation magnetization of 0.3 emu/ g at 300 K for the highest concentration as measured using a SQUID magnetometer. The saturation magnetization increased by ϳ2ϫ after annealing at 800°C for 5 min. The Curie temperature for all samples was found to be greater than 400 K. A significant difference in the temperature-dependent remnant magnetization between the implanted p-type and n-type Si is observed, giving strong evidence that a Si-based diluted magnetic semiconductor can be achieved.

The effects of carbon and postdeposition annealing on white luminescence are studied in amorphous silicon oxycarbide (a-SiCxOy) films grown by chemical vapor deposition. The films showed strong room-temperature luminescence in a broad spectral range from blue-violet to near infrared, depending on excitation energy. Photoluminescence (PL) intensity exhibited good correlation with SiOC bond concentration. At low C (<5%), matrix PL was completely quenched after annealing in O2 even at 500 °C. PL was unaffected by O2 annealing at higher C, and could be enhanced when excited by an ultraviolet laser. These findings are correlated to C- and Si-related O defect centers as luminescence sources in a-SiCxOy.

Findings are presented from a systematic study of the effects of postdeposition thermal treatment on the optical characteristics of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-oxycarbide (a-SiCxOyHz) materials. Three different classes of a-SiCxOyHz films: SiC-like (SiC1.08O0.07H0.21), Si-C-O (SiC0.50O1.20H0.22), and SiO2-like (SiC0.20O1.70H0.24), were deposited by thermal chemical vapor deposition. The effects of thermal annealing on the compositional and optical properties of the resulting films were characterized using Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, nuclear reaction analysis, and spectroscopic ultraviolet-visible ellipsometry. As the Si-C-O system evolved from a SiC-like to SiO2-like matrix, its refractive index and optical absorption strength decreased, while its optical band gap increased. Thermal annealing between 500 and 1100 °C resulted in hydrogen desorption from and densification of the a-SiCxOyHz films. Concurrently, thermally induced changes were also observed for the optical properties of the films, as evidenced by an increase in film refractive index and an accompanying decrease in optical gap. These changes are analyzed in the context of the underlying physical processes, particularly modifications in the electronic configuration (bonding) and hydrogen desorption mechanisms. Furthermore, based on the observed structural and optical properties of the thermally treated a-SiCxOyHz films, the Si-C-O matrix was employed in the successful development of an Er-doped Si-C-O system with efficient Er excitation and strong room-temperature photoluminescence emission around 1540 nm within a broad (460–600 nm) excitation band. As such, a-Si-C-O represents a material system that provides considerably efficient energy transfer mechanisms at the same Er concentration level than previously investigated Si-based materials.

Silicon oxycarbide (SiCxOy) is a promising material for achieving strong room-temperature white luminescence. The present work investigated the mechanisms for light emission in the visible/ultraviolet range (1.5–4.0 eV) from chemical vapor deposited amorphous SiCxOythin films, using a combination of optical characterizations and electron paramagnetic resonance(EPR) measurements. Photoluminescence(PL) and EPR studies of samples, with and without post-deposition passivation in an oxygen and forming gas (H2 5 at. % and N2 95 at. %) ambient, ruled out typical structural defects in oxides, e.g., Si-related neutral oxygen vacancies or non-bridging oxygen hole centers, as the dominant mechanism for white luminescence from SiCxOy. The observed intense white luminescence (red, green, and blue emission) is believed to arise from the generation of photo-carriers by optical absorption through C-Si-O related electronic transitions,and the recombination of such carriers between bands and/or at band tail states. This assertion is based on the realization that the PL intensity dramatically increased at an excitation energy coinciding with the E04 band gaps of the material, as well as by the observed correlation between the Si-O-C bond density and the PLintensity. An additional mechanism for the existence of a blue component of the white emission is also discussed.