ANNEALING BEHAVIORS OF PHOTOLUMINESCENCE FROM SIOX-H

The strong photoluminescence (PL) of SiOx:H prepared by plasma enhance d chemical vapor deposition has been systematically studied in conjunc tion with infrared and micro-Raman spectra. We have found that each PL spectrum is comprised of two Gaussian components, a main band and a s houlder. The main band might originate from amorphous silicon clusters embedded in die SiOx network, and its redshift with annealing tempera ture is due to expansion of the silicon clusters. The shoulder remains at about 835 nm in spite of the annealing temperature and possibly co mes from luminescent defect centers. The enhanced PL spectra after 117 0 degrees C annealing are attributed to the quantum confinement effect s of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in the SiO2 matrix. (C) 1998 Ame rican Institute of Physics.