The original work presented in this thesis describes research into Si-based luminescent materials, prepared specifically by ion implantation and rapid thermal processing of thermal oxide films. An in-depth optical characterisation, employing photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy was complimented with electron microscopy, revealing the source of efficient room temperature PL as nano-scale silicon inclusions (Si-NCs). The evolution of the Si-NC size and density with isothermal and isochronal annealing may be described using classical thermodynamics according to a diffusion limited, Ostwald ripening process. Values for the coarsening rate and activation energy, extracted from the evolution of the Si-NC size with annealing indicate that the transport of Si atoms and precipitate formation are enhanced in ion implanted films, attributable to the presence of vacancy and interstitial defects generated during ion irradiation. The PL and Raman spectra are well correlated with the evolving Si-NC size and density according to the quantum confinement (QC) model in which samples containing larger clusters emit at longer wavelengths. However, the formation of bound exciton states within the band gap of small clusters (< 2nm), as a result of specific surface chemistries, suppresses higher energy emissions. The increase in PL intensity with annealing was exactly correlated with the increase in PL lifetime, characteristic of the removal of non-radiative defects. A dependence of the PL dynamics on emission energy, with higher energies exhibiting shorter lifetimes, further evidences the QC effect. Blue shifted emission at high excitation flux and/or low temperature is correspondent with the slower PL dynamics and preferential saturation at longer wavelengths. Raman spectra were fit using a phonon confinement model, from which Si-NC size distributions were extracted and found to compare favourably with those obtained from TEM images. Stresses in the films, determined from the Raman peak position, were used as an independent method for calculating the Si surface energy, which is very close to the literature values. A single, high temperature anneal of Si and erbium (Er) co-doped films revealed a preferential aggregation of Er at the Si-NC formation site, which is of particular importance for the photo-sensitization of Er PL around 1.5μm. The Er PL was enhanced in the presence of Si-NCs by several orders of magnitude compared with a reference SiO2:Er. Whilst broadband pumping of the Er via Si-NCs evidences a non-resonant energy transfer mechanism with an efficiency which depends on the Si-NC size, the process is limited at high excitation flux by a combination of low sensitizer (Si-NC) density and non-radiative losses. Finally the Si-NC PL intensity in phosphorus (P) co-doped films was studied and found to depend strongly on the annealing conditions and P concentration. For lower temperature treatments, a factor 2 PL enhancement, relative to an un-doped reference was obtained, attributed to the passivation of Si-NC surface defects. Higher temperature treatments resulted in the monotonic quenching of the PL with increasing P concentration, attributed to the introduction of an efficient Augerre combination channel as a result of the ionization of P-donors inside large Si-NCs. A simple statistical model predicts this behaviour and provides an incidental estimate of the Si-NC size.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:bl.uk/oai:ethos.bl.uk:526991 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Crowe, Iain Forbes |
| Contributors | Halsall, Matthew |
| Publisher | University of Manchester |
| Source Sets | Ethos UK |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Source | https://www.research.manchester.ac.uk/portal/en/theses/silicon-photonic-materials-obtained-by-ion-implantation-and-rapid-thermal-processing(6dac4e6f-8f7c-4b67-bdc7-c5f5dcdbe775).html |
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