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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 February 2011
Considerable interest has been generated recently in the application of Porous Silicon to the production of light emitting devices, and a number of demonstration structures have been produced. However, the poor stability of the material pose limitations on its usefulness. We report studies of the luminescence properties of a related, but stable material: silicon-rich silica. This material consists of silicon clusters embedded in a host matrix of silica, and as such is considerably more robust than porous silicon.
We have produced a number of samples of silicon-rich silica thin films by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition on to doped silicon substrates. We report photoluminescence studies that investigate the nature of the radiative process, and show evidence of two separate luminescence mechanisms: defect luminescence and exciton confinement in nanoscale silicon clusters. Preliminary electroluminescence from silicon-rich silica fabricated by Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition will also be presented.