Silicon Rich Oxide (SRO) has been considered as a material to overcome the drawbacks of silicon to achieve optical functions. Various techniques can be used to produce it, including Low-Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD). In this paper, a brief description of the studies carried out and discussions of the results obtained on electro-, cathode-, and photoluminescence properties of SRO prepared by LPCVD and annealed at 1,100°Care presented. The experimental results lead us to accept that SRO emission properties are due to oxidation state nanoagglomerates rather than to nanocrystals. The emission mechanism is similar to Donor-Acceptor decay in semiconductors, and a wide emission spectrum, from 450 to 850 nm, has been observed. The results show that emission is a function of both silicon excess in the film and excitation energy. As a result different color emissions can be obtained by selecting the suitable excitation energy.

We report the preparation and characterization of Si nanoislands grown on a c-Si substrate by thermal annealing of silicon-rich oxide (SRO) films deposited using a conventional low pressure chemical vapour deposition (LPCVD) technique. Transmission electron microscopy revealed that a high density of Si nanoislands was formed on the surface of the c-Si substrate during thermal annealing. The nanoislands are nanocrystallites with the same crystal orientation as the substrate. The strain at the c-Si/SRO interface is probably the main reason for the nucleation of the self-assembled Si nanoislands that epitaxially grow on the c-Si substrate. The proposed method is very simple and compatible with Si integrated circuit technology.

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Silicon Rich Oxide (SRO) has optical and electric properties that can be used in silicon optoelectronics devices, especially photoluminescence. The study of the SRO optical and structural characteristics would provide information on the mechanism of radiation. In this paper, the infrared (IR) absorption spectra and refractive index of silicon rich oxide films annealed during different times have been obtained. The refractive index of SRO films increases as the excess of silicon increases and also with the thermal treatments time. The IR absorption peaks are associated with the rocking, bending and stretching modes of the Si-O-Si bounds. These peaks of absorption and the refractive index vary with the different processing steps, a change in the silicon and oxygen composition with the reactive gases relation (Ro) used during the deposition and thermal treatments time were observed. Also, comparison with previous data, or with thermal oxide, was done when it was possible.