Kinetics of the formation and doping of silicon nanocrystals

Silicon nanocrystals (Si-NC) in silicon oxide is a promising material for many applications in micro- and nanoelectronics. This article develops a theory of the kinetics of Si-NC formation when there are both diffusion and reaction mechanisms of their formation. The theoretical expressions obtained for changing the concentration of nanocrystals and silicon implanted in oxide and their sizes are consistent with experimental results and can be used to optimize the formation conditions of technological processes of Si-NC formation. An important modern problem is the doping of nanocrystals with impurities, which allows the creation of silicon Si-NC–emitting light, and are also objects for solar energy. We have shown that nanocrystals with sizes less than 5 nm are limited by the potential barrier that creates surface tension. Thermodynamic calculations showed that there is a critical size of the Si-NC and if it is smaller, then it is impossible to introduce an impurity into it. These calculations were performed for doping silicon with phosphorus and tin.