Published online by Cambridge University Press: 29 July 2011
A sequential two step 32 keV Au implantation and 1.5 MeV Au irradiation technique has been used to synthesize Si nanoclusters (NCs) in Si. The low energy amorphising implantation has been carried out over a fluence range of (1 – 100) × 1015 cm−2 while the high energy recrystallizing irradiation fluence was fixed at 1 × 1015 cm−2. Samples were further annealed in air at temperatures between 500° to 950° C for a fixed annealing time of 1 hr and were characterized using Raman scattering at an excitation wavelength of 514.5 nm. Results on as-implanted and irradiated samples indicate formation of strained NCs in the top amorphised layer. Annealing around 500°C has been found to result in strain relief after which the data could be well explained using a phonon confinement model with an extremely narrow size distribution.