Photoluminescence from Silicon Quantum Dots in Si Quantum Dots/Amorphous SiC Superlattice

Abstract

We prepared size-controlled silicon quantum dots superlattices (Si-QDSLs) by thermal annealing of stoichiometric hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-SiC:H)/silicon-rich hydrogenated amorphous silicon carbide (a-Si 1þx C:H) multilayers. Transmission electron microscope (TEM) observation revealed that silicon quantum dots were formed in only a-Si 1þx C:H layers. The size of silicon quantum dots can be controlled by the thickness of the a-Si 1þx C:H layers. It was found that hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) significantly enhanced the photoluminescence of the Si-QDSLs. The luminescence peaks shifted to shorter wavelength with decreasing the diameter of the silicon quantum dots in the Si-QDSL.

Comparative study of electroluminescence from annealed amorphous SiC single layer and amorphous Si/SiC multilayers

“…Recently, several reports have been published on the fabrication and physical properties of Si QDs embedded in amorphous SiC matrix [3][4][5][6]. It was found that Si QDs can be formed by thermal annealing amorphous SiC films and the photoluminescence band was shifted by adjusting the Si QDs size due to quantum confinement effect (QCE) [7].…”

Structural and electronic properties of Si nanocrystals embedded in amorphous SiC matrix

“…For example, Song et al [3,5] have studied the effect of annealing on microstructural properties of nc-Si/SiC structures prepared by magnetron co-sputtering. The optical and electrical properties of nc-Si/SiC multilayers have also been investigated and the tunable photoluminescence was found by controlling the dot size [6,7]. In order to further improve the device performance, it is crucial to understand the electronic properties of Si nanocrystals embedded in amorphous SiC matrix together with the microstructures and optical properties.…”

Surface Plasmon Enhancement of Optical Absorption in Thin-Film Silicon Solar Cells

“…Thin-film silicon-based solar cells are commonly fabricated using plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, electron beam evaporation, hot filament-assisted deposition, magnetron sputtering, and some other approaches that are compatible with the present-day microelectronic manufacturing processes [3][4][5][6]. These approaches are rapidly gaining momentum with the continuously increasing use of nanostructured materials to enhance solar cell performance [7][8][9][10][11].…”