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Nanocrystalline Silicon/Amorphous Silicon Dioxide Superlattices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 February 2011

Philippe M. Fauchet
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
Leonid Tsybeskov
Affiliation:
Department of Electrical Engineering, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY 14627, USA.
Margit Zacharias
Affiliation:
Also at Institute of Experimental Physics, Otto-von-Guericke University, Magdeburg, Germany
Karl Hirschman
Affiliation:
Also at Department of Microelectronic Engineering, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, NY 14623
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Abstract

Thin layers made of densely packed silicon nanocrystals sandwiched between amorphous silicon dioxide layers have been manufactured and characterized. An amorphous silicon/amorphous silicon dioxide superlattice is first grown by CVD or RF sputtering. The a-Si layers are recrystallized in a two-step procedure (nucleation + growth) to form layers of nearly identical nanocrystals whose diameter is given by the initial a-Si layer thickness. The recrystallization is monitored using a variety of techniques, including TEM, X-Ray, Raman, and luminescence spectroscopies. When the a-Si layer thickness decreases (from 25 nm to 2.5 nm) or the a-SiO2 layer thickness increases (from 1.5 nm to 6 nm), the recrystallization temperature increases dramatically compared to that of a single a-Si film. The removal of the a-Si tissue present between the nanocrystals, the passivation of the nanocrystals, and their doping are discussed.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 1998

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