Optical and structural properties of Si nanocrystals produced by Si hot implantation

It was already demonstrated that Si hot implantation followed by high-temperature annealing induces the formation of Si nanocrystals (Si NCs) which when excited in a linear excitation regime present two photoluminescence (PL) bands (at 780 and 1000 nm). We have undertaken the present work in order to investigate three features: First, to determine the origin of each band. With this aim we have changed the implantation fluence and the high-temperature annealing time. Second, to investigate the influence of the postannealing atmosphere on the PL recovering process after bombarding the Si NCs. Third, we have annealed the as-produced Si NCs in a forming gas (FG) atmosphere in order to observe the PL behavior of each band. The results have shown that the 780 nm PL band has its origin in radiative interfacial states, while the 1000 nm one is due to quantum size effects. From the experiments we have concluded that the PL recovery after the Si NCs irradiation strongly depends on the type of postannealing atmosphere. Finally, it was found that the FG treatment strongly affects the line shape of the PL spectrum