Article ID | Journal | Published Year | Pages | File Type |
---|---|---|---|---|
5404000 | Journal of Luminescence | 2006 | 5 Pages |
Abstract
Temperatures of 1000 °C and higher are a significant problem for the incorporation of erbium-doped silicon nanocrystal devices into standard silicon technology, and make the fabrication of contacts and reflectors in light emitting devices difficult. In the present work, we use energy-filtered TEM imaging techniques to show the formation of size-controlled amorphous silicon nanoclusters in SiO films annealed between 400 and 500 °C. The PL properties of such films are characteristic of amorphous silicon, and the spectrum can be controlled via a statistical size effect-as opposed to quantum confinement-that has previously been proposed for porous amorphous silicon. Finally, we show that amorphous nanoclusters sensitize the luminescence from the rare-earth ions Er, Nd, Yb, and Tm with excitation cross-sections similar in magnitude to erbium-doped silicon nanocrystal composites, and with a similar nonresonant energy transfer mechanism.
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Authors
A. Meldrum, A. Hryciw, A.N. MacDonald, C. Blois, T. Clement, R. DeCorby, J. Wang, Quan Li,