Spectroscopic Properties of Si-nc in SiOx Films Using HFCVD
Zaira Jocelyn Hernández Simón, José Alberto Luna López, José Álvaro David Hernández de la Luz, Sergio Alfonso Pérez‐García, Alfredo Benítez Lara, G. Garcı́a-Salgado, Jesús Carrillo López, Gabriel Omar Mendoza Conde, Hayde Patricia Martínez Hernández
Abstract
In the present work, non-stoichiometric silicon oxide films (SiOx) deposited using a hot filament chemical vapor deposition technique at short time and simple parameters of depositions are reported. This is motivated by the numerous potential applications of SiOx films in areas such as optoelectronics. SiOx films were characterized with different spectroscopic techniques. The deposited films have interesting characteristics such as the presence of silicon nanoclusters without applying thermal annealing, in addition to a strong photoluminescence after applying thermal annealing in the vicinity of 1.5 eV, which may be attributed to the presence of small, oxidized silicon grains (less than 2 nm) or silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc). An interesting correlation was found between oxygen content, the presence of hydrogen, and the formation of defects in the material, with parameters such as the band gap and the Urbach energies. This correlation is interesting in the development of band gap engineering for this material for applications in photonic devices.