Optical properties of cerium-doped SiNx thin films containing silicon nanocrystals.

In this work, we investigate the optical properties of silicon nitride doped with Cerium: Ce: SiN0.38 and Ce: SiN0.55 films produced by thermal evaporation deposition. Silicon nanocrystals (Si-Ncs) incorporated silicon rich-silicon nitride films (SiNx<1.33) were developed on Silicon substrate using Plasma Enhanced Chemical vapor technique (PECVD). The GIXRD and Raman analysis show the formation of Si-Ncs in two layers studied, SiN0.38 and SiN0.55 with the average size of 6 and 3 nm, respectively. The morphology, structure and chemical properties of annealed Ce doped SiNx were investigated by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), scanning- electron- microscopy (SEM) and elemental mapping, demonstrating that Ce was integrated into the SiNx layer. Si-Ncs size's effect on the photoluminescence (PL) response after doping by evaporation is studied. Layers with the small Si-Ncs exhibited a strong increase in the PL intensity in the blue region. Energy transfer between the small Si-Ncs and the Ce is the probable source of enhanced PL emission. The layers with large Si-Ncs did not show any indication of a Ce ion interaction. Highlight: Substoichiometric SiNx˂1.33 matrix was discovered by an Industrial LF-PECVD reactor. Luminescent Si-Ncs of various size have been synthesized in the SiNx matrix. A simple and repeatable technique is utilized to generate and incorporate rare earth ions (Cerium) into the silicon nitride matrix. Energy transfer from Si nanocrystals to Ce occurs for small Si-Ncs. This process can be introduced into the cell production line easily with low-cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]