Si1-xGex/Si resonant-cavity-enhanced photodetectors with a silicon-on-oxide reflector operating near 1.3 mu m

We report on a Si1-xGex/Si multiple quantum-well resonant-cavity-enhanced (RCE) photodetector with a silicon-on-oxide reflector as the bottom mirror operating near 1.3 mu m. The breakdown voltage of the photodetector is above 18 V and the dark current density at 5 V reverse bias is 12 pA/mu m(2). The RCE photodetector shows enhanced responsivity with a clear peak at 1.285 mu m and the peak responsivity is measured around 10.2 mA/W at a reverse bias of 5 V. The external quantum efficiency at 1.3 mu m is measured to be 3.5% under reverse bias of 16 V, which is enhanced three- to fourfold compared with that of a conventional p-i-n photodetector with a Ge content of 0.5 reported in 1995 by Huang [Appl. Phys. Lett. 67, 566 (1995)]. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00628-8].

Mechanism on exciton-mediated energy transfer in erbium-doped silicon

Exciton-mediated energy transfer model in Er-doped silicon was presented. The emission intensity is related to optically active Er concentration, lifetime of excited Er3+ ion and spontaneous emission. The thermal quenching of the Er luminescence in Si is caused by thermal ionization of Er-bound exciton complex and nonradiative energy back-transfer processes, which correspond to the activation energy of 6.6 and 47.4 meV, respectively. Er doping in silicon introduces donor states, a large enhancement in the electrical activation of Er (up to two orders of magnitude) is obtained by co-implanting Er with O. It appears that the donor states are the gateway to the optically active Er. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Tentative analysis of Swirl defects in silicon crystals

Swirl defects in dislocation-free Czochralski (CZ) silicon crystals have been investigated by preferential etching, transmission electron microscopy (TER I) and electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) mode of a scanning transmission electron microscope (STEM). Two kinds of Swirl defects have been found with a good correspondence between striated pattern consisting of hillocks and the buried micro-defects. The Swirl defects were identified as perfect dislocation loop cluster and tetrahedral precipitate, respectively. In addition, a kind of tiny micro-defects is found to be distributed preferentially in the vicinity of the Swirl pattern although there is no detectable correspondence between hillocks and the micro-defects. The energy-filtered images have been obtained by the plasma peaks at different parts of a coherent precipitate with the Si matrix. The experimental results show some indications of the existence of oxygen and carbon in the core of the precipitate and suggest that oxygen and carbon may play important roles in the formation of Swirl defect. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Polycrystalline silicon films prepared by improved pulsed rapid thermal annealing

An improved pulsed rapid thermal annealing (PRTA) has been used for the solid-phase crystallization (SPC) of a-Si films prepared by PECVD. The SPC can be completed with time-temperature budgets such as 10 cycles of 60-s 550 degrees C thermal bias/1-s 850 degrees C thermal pulse. The microstructure and surface morphology of the crystallized films are investigated by X-ray diffraction (XRD). The results indicate that this PRTA is a suitable post-crystallization technique for fabricating large-area poly-Si films on low-cost substrate. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Raman scattering of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in SiO2

Raman scattering of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in SiO2 matrix is systematically investigated. It is found that the Raman spectra can be well fitted by 5 Lorentzian lines in the Raman shift range of 100-600 cm(-1). The two-phonon scattering is also observed in the range of 600-1100 cm(-1) The experimental results indicate that the silicon crystallites in the films consist of nanocrystalline phase and amorphous phase; both can contribute to the Raman scattering. Besides the red-shift of the first order optical phonon modes with the decreasing size of silicon nanocrystallites, we have also found an enhancement effect on the second order Raman scattering, and the size effect on their Raman shift.

Improvement of thin silicon on sapphire (SOS) film materials and device performances by solid phase epitaxy

The increased emphasis on sub-micron CMOS/SOS devices has placed a demand for high quality thin silicon on sapphire (SOS) films with thickness of the order 100-200 nm. It is demonstrated that the crystalline quality of as-grown thin SOS films by the CVD method can be greatly improved by solid phase epitaxy (SPE) process: implantation of self-silicon ions and subsequent thermal annealing. Subsequent regrowth of this amorphous layer leads to a greater improvement in silicon layer crystallinity and channel carrier mobility, evidenced, respectively, by double crystal X-ray diffraction and electrical measurements. We concluded that the thin SPE SOS films are suitable for application to high-performance CMOS circuitry. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Absorption spectra of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in SiO2 matrix

Nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si) embedded SiO2 matrix has been formed by annealing the SiOx films fabricated by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) technique. Absorption coefficient and photoluminescence of the films have been measured at room temperature. The experimental results show that there is an "aUrbach-like" b exponential absorption in the spectral range of 2.0-3.0 eV. The relationship of (alpha hv)(1/2) proportional to(hv - E-g) demonstrates that the luminescent nc-Si have an indirect band structure. The existence of Stokes shift between photoluminescence and absorption edge indicates that radiative combination can take place not only between electron states and hole states but also between shallow trap states of electrons and holes. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

The new exploration for proton-implanted silicon: the conversion of a surface-region-purification-induced p-n junction into a p-i-n electrical structure approaching silicon on insulator

A surface-region-purification-induced p-n junction, a puzzle discovered at Brookhaven National Laboratory, in a silicon-on-defect-layer (SODL) material has been explored by carrying out various annealing conditions and subsequent measurements on electrical properties. The origin of the pn junction has been experimentally investigated. Furthermore, the p-n junction has been transformed into a p-i-n electrical structure by adding a high temperature annealing process to the previously used SODL procedure, making the SODL material approach silicon on insulator (SOI). The control of the initial oxygen amount in the silicon material is suggested to be critical for the experimental results.

Microstructures of microcrystalline silicon thin films prepared by hot wire chemical vapor deposition

Undoped hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (mu c-Si:H) thin films were prepared at low temperature by hot wire chemical vapor deposition (HWCVD). Microstructures of the mu c-Si:H films with different H-2/SiH4 ratios and deposition pressures have been characterized by infrared spectroscopy X-ray diffraction (XRD), Raman scattering, Fourier transform (FTIR), cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and small angle X-ray scattering (SAX). The crystallization of silicon thin film was enhanced by hydrogen dilution and deposition pressure. The TEM result shows the columnar growth of mu c-Si:H thin films. An initial microcrystalline Si layer on the glass substrate, instead of the amorphous layer commonly observed in plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), was observed from TEM and backside incident Raman spectra. The SAXS data indicate an enhancement of the mass density of mu c-Si:H films by hydrogen dilution. Finally, combining the FTIR data with the SAXS experiment suggests that the Si--H bonds in mu c-Si:H and in polycrystalline Si thin films are located at the grain boundaries. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science S.A. All rights reserved.

Optical properties of nanometer silicon prepared by silicon ion implanted into SiO2 layers

The samples of silicon nanocrystals (nc-Si) were prepared by Si ion implanted into SiO2 layers. Photoluminescence spectra were measured at room temperature and their dependence on thermal annealing was investigated. The experimental results show that PL peaks originate from the defects in SiO2 layers caused by ion implantation when the thermal annealing temperature is lower than 800 C. The PL peak from nc-Si was observed when the thermal annealing temperature was higher than 900 C, and PL intensity reached its maximum at the thermal annealing temperature of 1100 C. As the annealing temperature increases the red shift of PL peak from nc-Si shows the quantum size effect. The characterized Raman scattering peak of nc-Si was observed at the right angle scattering configuration for the first time. It provides further support for the PL measurements.

Investigation of absorption of nanocrystalline silicon

Nanocrystalline silicon embedded SiO2 matrix is formed by annealing the SiO2 films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. In conjunction with the micro-Ramam spectra, the absorption spectra of the films have been investigated. The blue-shift of absorption edge with decreasing size of silicon crystallites is due to quantum confinement effect. It is found that nanocrystalline silicon is of an indirect band structure, and that the absorption presents an exponential dependance absorption coefficient on photon energy ii! the range of 2.0-3.0 eV, and a sub-band appears in the the range of 1.0-1.5 eV. We believe that the exponential absorption is due to the indirect band-to-band transition of electrons in silicon nanocrystallites, while the Sub-band absorption is ascribed to transitions between the amorphous silicon states existing in the films.

Optical properties of nanocrystalline silicon embedded in SiO2

Nanocrystalline silicon embedded SiO2 matrix has been formed by annealing the a-SiOx films fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition technique. Absorption and photoluminescence spectra of, the films have been studied in conjunction with micro-Raman scattering spectra. It is found that absorption presents an exponential dependence of absorption coefficient to photon energy in the range of 1.5-3.0 eV, and a sub-band appears in the range of 1.0-1.5 eV. The exponential absorption is due to the indirect band-to-band transition of electrons in silicon nanocrystallites, while the sub-band absorption is ascribed to transitions between surfaces and/or defect states of the silicon nanocrystallites. The existence of Stokes shift between absorption and photoluminescence suggests that the phonon-assisted luminescence would he enhanced due to the quantum confinement effects.

Effect of Si doping on cubic GaN films grown on GaAs(100)

Epitaxial layers of cubic GaN have been grown by metalorganic vapor-phase epitaxy (MOVPE) with Si-doping carrier concentration ranging from 3 x 10(18) to 2.4 x 10(20)/cm(3). Si-doping decreased the yellow emission of GaN. However, the heavily doped n-type material has been found to induce phase transformation. As the Si-doping concentration increases, the hexagonal GaN nanoparticles increase. Judged from the linewidth of X-ray rocking curve, Si-doping increases the density of dislocations and stacking faults. Based on these observations, a model is proposed to interpret the phase transformation induced by the generated microdefects, such as dislocations and precipitates, and induced stacking faults under heavy Si-doping. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Improved neutron radiation hardness for Si detectors: Application of low resistivity starting material and or manipulation of N-eff by selective filling of radiation-induced traps at low temperatures

Radiation-induced electrical changes in both space charge region (SCR) of Si detectors and bulk material (BM) have been studied for samples of diodes and resistors made on Si materials with different initial resistivities. The space charge sign inversion fluence (Phi(inv)) has been found to increase linearly with the initial doping concentration (the reciprocal of the resistivity), which gives improved radiation hardness to Si detectors fabricated from low resistivity material. The resistivity of the BM, on the other hand, has been observed to increase with the neutron fluence and approach a saturation value in the order of hundreds k Omega cm at high fluences, independent of the initial resistivity and material type. However, the fluence (Phi(s)), at which the resistivity saturation starts, increases with the initial doping concentrations and the value of Phi(s) is in the same order of that of Phi(inv) for all resistivity samples. Improved radiation hardness can also be achieved by the manipulation of the space charge concentration (N-eff) in SCR, by selective filling and/or freezing at cryogenic temperatures the charge state of radiation-induced traps, to values that will give a much smaller full depletion voltage. Models have been proposed to explain the experimental data.

Influence of crystal perfection on the reverse leakage current of the SiGe Si p-n heterojunction diodes

Double-crystal X-ray diffraction and I-V characterization have been carried out on the GSMBE grown SiGe/Si p-n heterojunction materials. Results show that the SiGe alloys crystalline quality and the misfit dislocations are critical influences on the reverse leakage current. The crystal perfection and/or the degree of metastability of the Sice alloys have been estimated in terms of the model proposed by Tsao with the experimental results. High-quality p-n heterojunction diodes can be obtained by optimizing the SiGe alloy structures, which limit the alloys in the metastable states. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.