Luminescence hydrogenated nanoamorphous Si films fabricated by reactive pulsed laser ablation

Hydrogenated nanoamorphous Si (na-Si:H) films have been fabricated by reactive pulsed laser ablation technique with hydrogen as reactive gas. It is found that the hydrogen pressure has a great effect on both the structure and photoluminescence (PL) properties of the films. Increasing the hydrogen pressure leads to a structural transition of the films from amphorous Si to na-Si:H, and the PL center wavelength of the na-Si:H films is varied with the hydrogen pressure. The PL decay times of the na-Si:H films are in the nanosecond scale and are shorter on the high energy side of their PL spectrum. The results demonstrate that the na-Si:H films are promising candidates for visible, tunable and high-performance light-emitting devices.

► We fabricated the na-Si:H films by reactive pulsed laser ablation technique.
► We studied the effects of hydrogen pressure on the properties of the na-Si:H films.
► The PL center wavelength of the na-Si:H films is varied with the hydrogen pressure.
► The PL decay times of the na-Si:H films are in the nanosecond scale.