This study investigated the effects of heat treatment on changes in the nanostructure of amorphous silicon oxycarbide thin films. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon oxycarbide (a-Si0.6C0.3O0.1:H) thin films were prepared via plasma-enhanced chemical vapor
deposition. The films were subjected to post-deposition heat treatments via microwave-assisted heating, which resulted in the formation of nanocrystals of SiC and Si in the a-Si0.6C0.3O0.1:H matrix at temperatures as low as ~800 °C. The crystallization
activation energies of SiC and Si were determined to be 1.32 and 1.04 eV, respectively lower than those obtained when the sample was heat-treated via conventional heating (CH). Microwaves can be used to fabricate nanocrystals at a temperature approximately ~300 °C lower than that required
for CH. The optical and nanostructural evolutions after post-deposition heat treatments were examined using photoluminescence (PL) and X-ray diffraction. The position of the PL peaks of the nanocrystals varied from ~425 to ~510 nm as the annealing temperature was increased from 800 to 1000
°C. In this study the optical band gap of SiC and Si varied from ~2.92 to ~2.40 eV and from ~2.00 to ~1.79 eV, as the size of the SiC and Si nanocrystals varied with respect to the heating temperature and isothermal holding time, respectively.
Luminescence Properties of Er and Si Nanoparticles Co-doped Aluminum Silicate Thin Films