Optical Properties of Silicon Oxide (SiOx, x<2) Thin Films Deposited by PECVD Technique

Silicon oxide thin films were deposited by using a plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition technique to investigate the light emission properties. The photoluminescence characteristics were divided into two categories along the relative ratio of the flow rates of $SiH_4$ and $N_2O$ source gases, which show light emission in the broad/visible range and a light emission peak at 380 nm. We attribute the broad/visible light emission and the light emission peak to the quantum confinement effect of nanocrystalline silicon and the Si=O defects, respectively. Changes in the photoluminescence spectra were observed after the post-annealing processes. The photoluminescence spectra of the broad light emission in the visible range shifted to the long wavelength and were saturated above an annealing temperature of $900^{\circ}C$ or after 1 hour annealing at $970^{\circ}C$. However, the position of the light emission peak at 380 nm did not change at all after the post-annealing processes. The light emission intensities at 380 nm initially increased, and decreased at annealing temperatures above $700^{\circ}C$ or after 1 hour annealing at $700^{\circ}C$. The photoluminescence behaviors after the annealing processes can be explained bythe size change of the nanocrystalline silicon and the density change of Si=O defect in the films, respectively. These results support the possibility of using a silicon-based light source for Si-optoelectronic integrated circuits and/or display devices.

PECVD 방법으로 증착한 SiOx(x<2) 박막의 광학적 특성 규명