Investigation of structural and optical Characteristics of Cerium-Doped Silicon-Rich Nitride thin films Deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition

Abstract

In this work, the silicon nanostructures were formed on silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRSN) by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition methods at low temperature Then, it was doped with Cerium (Ce) via a facile evaporation technique. Furthermore, the annealing temperature was varied in order to investigate its effective role in incorporating and activating rare earth ions in the SiNx matrix. The structural, morphological, and optical characteristics of the films were evaluated by Raman spectroscopy at room temperature, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy dispersive X-ray (EDS), photoluminescence spectroscopy and UV-Vis transmittance spectroscopy, respectively. SEM images demonstrated a good Ce3+ integration into silicon nitride, as well as great transparency in the visible region and outstanding UV absorption. The deposited thin films band gap was estimated to be in the range of 2.43-1.15 eV. Hence, the addition of Cerium (Ce) boosted the UV absorption of the films. Therefore, SiNx thin films as a function of Ce doping are promising candidates for photovoltaic application. moreover, a new silicon nitride compound was produced to promote research into new industrial materials. From an industrial standpoint, the development of novel inexpensive and controllable approaches based on silicon nitride phosphors should be expanded.