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Structural and optical characterization of Si quantumdots in a SiC matrix

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 February 2011

Matthias Kuenle ,
Philipp Loeper ,
Marcel Rothfelder ,
Stefan Janz ,
Oliver Eibl  and
Klaus Georg Nickel
Matthias Kuenle
Affiliation:
matthias.kuenle@ise.fraunhofer.de, Fraunhofer ISE, Materials - Solar cells and Technology, Freiburg, Germany
Philipp Loeper
Affiliation:
philipp.loeper@ise.franhofer.de, Fraunhofer ISE, Freiburg, Germany
Marcel Rothfelder
Affiliation:
marcel.rothfelder@ise.fraunhofer.de, Fraunhofer ISE, Freiburg, Germany
Stefan Janz
Affiliation:
stefan.janz@ise.fraunhofer.de, Fraunhofer ISE, Materials - Solar cells and Technology, Freiburg, Germany
Oliver Eibl
Affiliation:
oliver.eibl@uni-tuebingen.de, Eberhard-Karls-University, Institute for Applied Physics, Tuebingen, Germany
Klaus Georg Nickel
Affiliation:
klaus.nickel@uni-tuebingen.de, Eberhard-Karls-University, Institute for Geoscience, Applied Mineralogy, Tuebingen, Germany
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Abstract

Amorphous hydrogenated Si1-xCx/SiC multilayers consisting of alternating Si1-xCx and stoichiometric SiC layers were prepared using Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD). Annealing at temperatures up to 1100°C was done targeting the size controlled crystallization of Si nanocrystals (NCs) in a SiC matrix. The influence of annealing temperature on the nanostructure of the multilayers was studied using Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), Raman spectroscopy and Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM). GIXRD reveal the crystallization of Si and SiC, when annealing temperatures exceed 900°C. The crystallization of Si and SiC was confirmed by TEM bright-field imaging and electron diffraction. Annealing at 900°C, leads to the formation of Si NCs with a size of 3 nm, whereas the SiC NCs also have a size of 3 nm. However, a large amount of Si is still amorphous as shown by Raman spectroscopy. Annealing at temperatures exceeding 900°C reduces the amorphous phase and a further growth of Si NCs occurs.

Keywords

transmission electron microscopy (TEM)nanostructureplasma-enhanced CVD (PECVD) (deposition)
Type
Research Article
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1260: Symposium T – Photovoltaics and Optoelectronics from Nanoparticles , 2010 , 1260-T11-03
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2010

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