Visible light emission from thin films containing Si, O, N, and H

• DOI: 10.1063/1.359925
• Publication Date: 2002-07-26T13:50:13Z
• Authors: B. H. Augustine; E. A. Irene; Y. J. He; K. J. Price; L. E. McNeil; K. N. Christensen; D. M. Maher
• Keywords: Suboxide; Silicon oxynitride; Nanocrystalline silicon

We report the fabrication, chemical, optical, and photoluminescence characterization of amorphous silicon-rich oxynitride (SiOxNy:H) thin films by plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition. The film compositions were followed changes in refractive index. X-ray photoelectron Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy indicate that chemical composition is dominated silicon suboxide bonding with N present as a significant impurity. A broad tunable (PL) emission visible at room temperature quantum efficiency 0.011% peak energies to 3.15 eV. radiative lifetimes are less than 10 ns, there nearly no dependence PL intensity down 80 K. Ex situ annealing temperatures above 850 °C results an increase three orders magnitude, independent ambient. remarkably similar literature oxidized porous nanocrystalline Si films, suggest center due defect structure moiety.