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On the effects of thermal treatment on the composition, structure, morphology, and optical properties of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-oxycarbide

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 January 2011

Spyros Gallis ,
Vasileios Nikas ,
Eric Eisenbraun ,
Mengbing Huang  and
Alain E. Kaloyeros
Spyros Gallis*
Affiliation:
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, The University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, New York 12203
Alain E. Kaloyeros*
Affiliation:
College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, The University at Albany-SUNY, Albany, New York 12203
*
a) Current address: International Business Machines, Hopewell Junction, New York 10598
b) Address all correspondence to this author. e-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The composition, structure, morphology, and optical characteristics of hydrogenated amorphous silicon-oxycarbide (a-SiCxOyHz) materials were investigated as a function of experimental processing conditions and post-deposition thermal treatment. Thermal chemical vapor deposition (TCVD) was applied to the growth of three different types of a-SiCxOyHz films, namely, SiC-like (SiC1.08O0.07H0.21), Si-C-O (SiC0.50O1.20H0.22), and SiO2-like (SiC0.20O1.70H0.24). The resulting films were subsequently annealed at temperatures ranging from 500 °C to 1100 °C for 1 h in an argon atmosphere. The composition, structure, and morphology of as-deposited and post-annealed films were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy (RBS), nuclear-reaction analysis (NRA), and scanning electron microscopy. Corresponding optical properties were assessed by spectroscopic ultraviolet-visible ellipsometry (UV-VIS-SE). These studies led to the identification of an optimized process window for the growth of Er doped silicon oxycarbide (SiC0.5O1.0:Er) thin film with strong room-temperature photoluminescence emission measured around 1540 nm within a broad (460 nm to 600 nm) wavelength band. Associated modeling studies showed that the effective cross section for Er excitation in the SiC0.5O1.0:Er matrix was approximately four orders of magnitude larger than its analog for direct optical excitation of Er ions.

Keywords

Chemical compositionChemical vapor deposition (CVD) (chemical reaction)Optical properties
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Materials Research , Volume 24 , Issue 8 , August 2009 , pp. 2561 - 2573
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2009

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