Optical and electron paramagnetic resonance study of light-emitting Si+ ion implanted silicon dioxide layers

Thermally grown SiO2 on Si substrates implanted with Si+ ions with a dose o f 6 x 10(16) cm(-2) were studied by the techniques of photoluminescence, el ectron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and low-frequency Raman scattering. Di stinct oxygen-vacancy associated defects in SiO2 and nonbridging oxygen hol e centers were identified by EPR. The luminescence intensity in the 620 nm range was found to correlate with the number of these defects. The low-freq uency Raman scattering technique was used to estimate the average size of t he Si nanocrystallites formed after the implantation and thermal annealing at T >1100 degrees C, which are responsible for the photoluminescence band with a maximum at 740 nm. The intensity of this band can be significantly e nhanced by an additional treatment in a low-temperature rf plasma. (C) 1999 American Institute of Physics. [S0021-8979(99)09801-1].