Structural, electrical and photovoltaic characterization of Si nanocrystals embedded SiC matrix and Si nanocrystals/c-Si heterojunction devices

Song, Dengyuan; Cho, Eun‐Chel; Conibeer, Gavin; Flynn, Christopher; Huang, Yifei; Green, Martin A.

doi:10.1016/j.solmat.2007.11.002

Cited by 122 publications

(65 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…In addition, co-crystallization of Si and SiC NC is observed [22][23][24][25][26]. It was only recently that Summonte et al [12] managed to obtain size-controlled Si NC in SiC by optimizing the ML parameters: they proved using transmission electron microscope (TEM) images that for an as-deposited SRC thickness between 3 and 4 nm, the ML structure survives the annealing for both 3 nm and 9 nm thick SiC barrier layers.…”

Section: Page 5 Of 27mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and optical properties of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon carbide: Comparison of single layers and multilayer structures

Weiss

Schnabel

Reichert

et al. 2015

Applied Surface Science

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The outstanding demonstration of quantum confinement in Si nanocrystals (Si NC) in a SiC matrix requires the fabrication of Si NC with a narrow size distribution. It is understood without controversy that this fabrication is a difficult exercise and that a multilayer (ML) structure is suitable for such fabrication only in a narrow parameter range. This parameter range is sought by varying both the stoichiometric SiC barrier thickness and the Si-rich SiC well thickness between 3 and 9 nm and comparing them to single layers (SL). The samples processed for this investigation were deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) and subsequently subjected to thermal annealing at 1000-1100 degrees C for crystal formation. Bulk information about the entire sample area and depth were obtained by structural and optical characterization methods: information about the mean Si NC size was determined from grazing incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) measurements. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) was applied to gain insight into the structure of the Si-C network, and spectrophotometry measurements were performed to investigate the absorption coefficient and to estimate the bandgap E-04. All measurements showed that the influence of the ML structure on the Si NC size, on the Si-C network and on the absorption properties is subordinate to the influence of the overall Si content in the samples, which we identified as the key parameter for the structural and optical properties. We attribute this behavior to interdiffusion of the barrier and well layers. Because the produced Si NC are within the target size range of 2-4 nm for all layer thickness variations, we propose to use the Si content to adjust the Si NC size in future experiments

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Section: Page 5 Of 27mentioning

confidence: 99%

Structural and optical properties of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon carbide: Comparison of single layers and multilayer structures

Weiss

Schnabel

Reichert

et al. 2015

Applied Surface Science

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“…For example, it was reported that, by using p-type nc-Si:SiC films to get hetero-junction solar cells with n-type crystalline-Si (c-Si), the spectral response in the visible light range can be enhanced compared with that of conventional c-Si p-n junction solar cells. 7 Moreover, an intense visible light emission from nc-Si:SiC films deposited using advanced electron-cyclotron-resonance chemical vapor deposition (ECRCVD) technique was also observed at room temperature under laser excitation. 8 X. Xu et al used laser crystallization technique to get the p-i-n structures containing nc-Si:SiC films and they observed the improved electroluminescence due to the enhanced radiative recombination probability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…9 Usually, nc-Si:SiC films can be obtained by growing Si-rich SiC films or amorphous Si/SiC multilayers with subsequently thermal annealing at high temperature. [5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12] By controlling the Si/C ratio or the post-annealing conditions, the optical band gap can be tunable which brings convenience to the design of optoelectronic devices. However, the SiC matrix with a large band gap usually has a poor conductive property and in turn impedes the carrier transport process which will deteriorate the device performance.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Formation of high conductive nano-crystalline silicon embedded in amorphous silicon-carbide films with large optical band gap

Shan

Qian

et al. 2016

AIP Advances

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High conductive phosphorus-doped nano-crystalline Si embedded in Silicon-Carbide (SiC) host matrix (nc-Si:SiC) films were obtained by thermally annealing doped amorphous Si-rich SiC materials. It was found that the room conductivity is increased significantly accompanying with the increase of doping concentrations as well as the enhanced crystallizations. The conductivity can be as high as 630 S/cm for samples with the optical band gap around 2.7 eV, while the carrier mobility is about 17.9 cm2/ V·s. Temperature-dependent conductivity and mobility measurements were performed which suggested that the carrier transport process is strongly affected by both the grain boundaries and the doping concentrations.

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“…As a rule of thumb, greater silicon excess, higher annealing temperature, and longer annealing produce larger and more crystallized Si-ncs. The phase separation mechanism is also valid for the fabrication of Si-nc embedded in silicon nitride [75]- [77] and silicon carbide [78].…”

Section: Si-nc Based Light Emittersmentioning

confidence: 79%

Silicon Nanocrystals as an Enabling Material for Silicon Photonics

et al. 2009

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| Silicon nanocrystals (Si-nc) is an enabling material for silicon photonics, which is no longer an emerging field of research but an available technology with the first commercial products available on the market. In this paper, properties and applications of Si-nc in silicon photonics are reviewed. After a brief history of silicon photonics, the limitations of silicon as a light emitter are discussed and the strategies to overcome them are briefly treated, with particular attention to the recent achievements. Emphasis is given to the visible optical gain properties of Si-nc and to its sensitization effect on Er ions to achieve infrared light amplification. The state of the art of Si-nc applied in a few photonic components is reviewed and discussed. The possibility to exploit Si-nc for solar cells is also presented. In addition, nonlinear optical effects, which enable fast all-optical switches, are described.

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Structural, electrical and photovoltaic characterization of Si nanocrystals embedded SiC matrix and Si nanocrystals/c-Si heterojunction devices

Cited by 122 publications

References 38 publications

Structural and optical properties of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon carbide: Comparison of single layers and multilayer structures

Structural and optical properties of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon carbide: Comparison of single layers and multilayer structures

Formation of high conductive nano-crystalline silicon embedded in amorphous silicon-carbide films with large optical band gap

Silicon Nanocrystals as an Enabling Material for Silicon Photonics

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