The present comprehensive study of photoluminescence (PL) quantum yield (QY) of Si nanocrystals (SiNCs) in Si-rich oxynitride (SRON) superlattices was performed over a broad set of samples. The PL QY is sensitive mostly to the thickness of SRON and barrier oxide layers and to the passivation procedures. Annealing in hydrogen improves the QY proportionally to the NC surface area by passivating the NC/oxide interface defects present at a surface density of about 2.5 × 1012 cm−2. The maximum external QY of nearly 30% is found in well-passivated superlattices with a SiNC size of about 4 nm and a SiO2 barrier thickness of 2 nm or larger. We reveal the existence of an extended near-infrared tail of the PL spectra, whose weak intensity anti-correlates with the external QY. The relative intensity of this emission increases with temperature as well as for strong excitation above the PL saturation level and may be related to excitation energy transfer to the structural defects near NCs. Finally, we discuss the possible mechanisms which are responsible for limiting the attainable PL QY and which may be the subject of future efforts to further increase the PL QY.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
14 October 2017
Research Article|
October 10 2017
Photoluminescence performance limits of Si nanocrystals in silicon oxynitride matrices
Jan Valenta
;
Jan Valenta
a)
1
Department of Chemical Physics and Optics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University
, Prague, Czechia
Search for other works by this author on:
Michael Greben
;
Michael Greben
1
Department of Chemical Physics and Optics, Faculty of Mathematics and Physics, Charles University
, Prague, Czechia
Search for other works by this author on:
Sebastian Gutsch;
Sebastian Gutsch
2
Faculty of Engineering, IMTEK, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
, Freiburg, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
Daniel Hiller;
Daniel Hiller
2
Faculty of Engineering, IMTEK, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
, Freiburg, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
Margit Zacharias
Margit Zacharias
2
Faculty of Engineering, IMTEK, Albert-Ludwigs-University Freiburg
, Freiburg, Germany
Search for other works by this author on:
a)
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected]
J. Appl. Phys. 122, 144303 (2017)
Article history
Received:
August 04 2017
Accepted:
September 28 2017
Citation
Jan Valenta, Michael Greben, Sebastian Gutsch, Daniel Hiller, Margit Zacharias; Photoluminescence performance limits of Si nanocrystals in silicon oxynitride matrices. J. Appl. Phys. 14 October 2017; 122 (14): 144303. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4999023
Download citation file:
Pay-Per-View Access
$40.00
Sign In
You could not be signed in. Please check your credentials and make sure you have an active account and try again.
Citing articles via
A step-by-step guide to perform x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy
Grzegorz Greczynski, Lars Hultman
Piezoelectric thin films and their applications in MEMS: A review
Jinpeng Liu, Hua Tan, et al.
Tutorial: Simulating modern magnetic material systems in mumax3
Jonas J. Joos, Pedram Bassirian, et al.
Related Content
Charge transport and electroluminescence of silicon nanocrystals/SiO2 superlattices
J. Appl. Phys. (October 2013)
Characterization of silicon-rich nitride and oxynitride films for polysilicon gate patterning. I. Physical characterization
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A (September 2001)
Effects of inter-nanocrystal distance on luminescence quantum yield in ensembles of Si nanocrystals
Appl. Phys. Lett. (December 2014)
Doping efficiency of phosphorus doped silicon nanocrystals embedded in a SiO2 matrix
Appl. Phys. Lett. (June 2012)
Controlling defect and Si nanoparticle luminescence from silicon oxynitride films with CO 2 laser annealing
Appl. Phys. Lett. (March 2006)