Oxygen Content-Controllable Synthesis of Non-Stoichiometric Silicon Suboxide Nanoparticles by Electrochemical Anodization

Abstract

A facile route to producing non-stoichiometric silicon suboxide nanoparticles (SiOx NPs, 0 < x < 1) with an adjustable oxygen content is proposed. The process is based on electrochemical anodization involving the application of a strong electric field near the surface of a Si electrode to directly convert the Si electrode into SiOx NPs. The difference in ion mobility between oxygen species (O2- and OH-), formed during anodization, causes the production of non-stoichiometric SiOx on the surface of the Si while, simultaneously, fluoride ions in the electrolyte solution etch the formed SiOx layer, generating NPs under the intense electric field. The adjustment of the applied voltage and anodization temperature alters the oxygen content and the size of the SiOx NPs, respectively, allowing the characteristics of the NPs to be readily controlled. The proposed approach can be applied for mass production of SiOx NPs and is highly promising in the field of batteries and optoelectronics.

Bipolar resistive switching in Ag/VO2(B)/SiOx/n++Si RRAM

“…The differences among four devices imply that Ag gel and VO 2 (B)/SiO x layer play a synergistic effect on bipolar RS behavior of the Device, the synergistic effect was observed in n-IZO/PEDOT:PSS based junction [39], where the formation of conductive filaments was attributed to the migration of both oxygen ions from IZO layers and Ag + ions from PEDOT:PSS layers. Although the RS of the oxide-based RRAM could also be caused by the formation of conductive filaments from oxygen ions [40,41], the role of the oxygen ions in device A may be weakened due to the SiOx layer and the formation of silver conducting filaments [11,34,42] is predominant in present study. The double log I-V displayed in figure 2(a) was redesigned as shown in figure 4 in order to verify the above assumption and further figured out the resistive switching mechanism of the memory device.…”

“…The current rises sharply at a certain voltage indicating that the device is set [32] from high resistance (HRS) to low resistance (LRS) [33] as the voltage sweeps from 0 V to 6 V. When voltage sweeps back from 6 V to 0 V, the LRS is maintained. While the reverse bias was swept from 0 V to −6 V, the device reset [34] from LRS to HRS. As the applied voltage swept from −6 V to 0 V, the HRS was maintained.…”

“…The bipolar RS behavior was also observed in Device C, however the device switches from LRS to HRS as the voltage swept from −6 V to 0 V, inversely Device A stays at HRS. This is because the high voltage causes the oxygen ions in the VO 2 (B) nanorods to migrate to the bottom electrode, resulting in a limiting current [34]. It indicates that the native SiO x layer on the silicon wafer blocks the migration of oxygen ions, causing Device A to maintain HRS under negative bias [36,37].…”

Recent advances in techniques for fabrication and characterization of nanogap biosensors: A review

“…The process of dry oxidation is very important in semiconductor fabrication, and dry oxidation is introduced into the process tube where it reacts with silicon. 125 Dry oxidation is a slow process that grows films at a rate between 140 and 250 Ǻ/h. 126 At high temperatures, the silicon surface gets oxidized in the presence of dry oxygen.…”

O2 Oxidation and Sublimation Kinetics of Single Silicon Nanoparticles at 1200–2050 K: Variation of Reaction Rates, Evolution of Structural and Optical Properties, and the Active-to-Passive Transition

“…Because of the importance of Si and its oxides in semiconductors, there is extensive literature for Si oxidation, and papers with particular relevance to the present experiments are reviewed in the Supporting Information (SI) and compared to our results below. Furthermore, several technological applications involve the passivation of Si NPs, and these include single monolayer SiO 2 growth for thermoelectrics and tuning of the oxygen concentration in SiO x NPs for batteries and optoelectronics . Therefore, it is useful to have the essentials of the bulk Si oxidation behavior in mind when viewing the results for NPs.…”