Structural Relaxation of Vacancies in Amorphous Silicon

1997 ◽  
Vol 467 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eunja Kim ◽  
Young Hee Lee ◽  
Changfeng Chen ◽  
Tao Pang
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Structural Relaxation ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Tight Binding ◽  
Unusual Behavior ◽  
High Defect Density ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Gap States ◽  
Dynamics Method

ABSTRACTWe have studied the structural relaxation of vacancies in amorphous silicon (a-Si) using a tight-binding molecular-dynamics method. The most significant difference between vacancies in a-Si and those in crystalline silicon (c-Si) is that the deep gap states do not show up in a-Si. This difference is explained through the unusual behavior of the structural relaxation near the vacancies in a-Si, which enhances the sp2 + p bonding near the band edges. We have also observed that the vacancies do not migrate below 450 K although some of them can still be annihilated, particularly at high defect density due to large structural relaxation.

Luminescent Amorphous Silicon Layers

1997 ◽  
Vol 486 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Allan ◽  
C. Delerue ◽  
M. Lannoo
Keyword(s):  
Electronic Structure ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Radiative Recombination ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Tight Binding ◽  
Blue Shift ◽  
Localized States ◽  
Structure Model ◽  
Radiative Recombination Rate ◽  
Tight Binding Approximation

AbstractThe electronic structure of amorphous silicon layers has been calculated within the empirical tight binding approximation using the Wooten-Winer-Weaire atomic structure model. We predict an important blue shift due to the confinement for layer thickness below 3 nm and we compare with crystalline silicon layers. The radiative recombination rate is enhanced by the disorder and the confinement but remains quite small. The comparison of our results with experimental results shows that the density of defects and localized states in the studied samples must be quite small.

Defects in Amorphous Silicon

1982 ◽  
Vol 14 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. K. Biegelsen
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Electronic Properties ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Random Network ◽  
Optical And Electronic Properties ◽  
Characteristic Features ◽  
Gap States ◽  
Hydrogenated Amorphous ◽  
Silicon Defects ◽  
Continuous Random Network

ABSTRACTIn this paper we argue that amorphous silicon can be treated as a relaxed continuous random network. The optical and electronic properties are controlled by localized gap states which arise from characteristic features of a disordered tetrahedrally-bonded covalent network. Experimental results are reviewed which indicate that the dominant (perhaps only) electrically-active defect in hydrogenated amorphous silicon is the topologically distinct, silicon dangling bond. Finally, we suggest that the same, disorder-related characteristics might also typify the electronic properties of some macroscopic crystalline silicon defects.

Picosecond Photocarrier Lifetimes in Ion-Irradiated Amorphous and Crystalline Silicon

1991 ◽  
Vol 235 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Stolk ◽  
L. Calcagnile ◽  
S. Roorda ◽  
H. B. van Linden ◽  
Van den Heuvell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Liquid Nitrogen ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Defect Density ◽  
Liquid Nitrogen Temperature ◽  
Generation Rate ◽  
Structural Defects ◽  
Pump Probe ◽  
Recombination Centers

ABSTRACTCrystalline silicon (c-Si) and structurally relaxed amorphous silicon (a-Si) were implanted with 1 MeV Si+ at liquid nitrogen temperature. The photocarrier lifetime τ in the implanted samples was determined with sub-picosecond resolution through pump-probe reflectivity measurements. At low damage levels (i.e. <1014 ions/cm2), τ decreases with increasing ion dose in both materials, indicating a build up of trapping and recombination centers. The dominant centers in c-Si appear to be related to simple defects. The generation rate of electrically active defects is found to be the same in relaxed a-Si and c-Si, which suggests that the structural defects formed in a-Si strongly resemble the simple defects in c-Si. For ion doses > 1014 /cm2, τ saturates at a level of 0.8 ps for both materials. Strikingly, the saturation sets in far below the dose needed to amorphize (>1015 /cm2). The defect density in a-Si at saturation is estimated to be ≈1.6 at.%.

Formation of Nanocrystalline Silicon in Tin-Doped Amorphous Silicon Films

2020 ◽  
Vol 65 (3) ◽  
pp. 236
Author(s):  
R. M. Rudenko ◽  
O. O. Voitsihovska ◽  
V. V. Voitovych ◽  
M. M. Kras’ko ◽  
A. G. Kolosyuk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Solid Phase ◽  
Nanocrystalline Silicon ◽  
Recrystallization Temperature ◽  
Nanocrystalline Phase ◽  
Silicon Phase ◽  
Silicon Nanocrystallites ◽  
Lower Temperature ◽  
Two Stages

The process of crystalline silicon phase formation in tin-doped amorphous silicon (a-SiSn) films has been studied. The inclusions of metallic tin are shown to play a key role in the crystallization of researched a-SiSn specimens with Sn contents of 1–10 at% at temperatures of 300–500 ∘C. The crystallization process can conditionally be divided into two stages. At the first stage, the formation of metallic tin inclusions occurs in the bulk of as-precipitated films owing to the diffusion of tin atoms in the amorphous silicon matrix. At the second stage, the formation of the nanocrystalline phase of silicon occurs as a result of the motion of silicon atoms from the amorphous phase to the crystalline one through the formed metallic tin inclusions. The presence of the latter ensures the formation of silicon crystallites at a much lower temperature than the solid-phase recrystallization temperature (about 750 ∘C). A possibility for a relation to exist between the sizes of growing silicon nanocrystallites and metallic tin inclusions favoring the formation of nanocrystallites has been analyzed.

Kinetics of silicon nitride crystallization in N+-implanted silicon

1989 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-398 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. S. Kaushik ◽  
A. K. Datye ◽  
D. L. Kendall ◽  
B. Martinez-Tovar ◽  
D. S. Simons ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Silicon Nitride ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Crystalline Silicon ◽  
Wafer Surface ◽  
Amorphous Silicon Nitride ◽  
Silicon Lattice ◽  
Nitrogen Ions ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Nitride Layers ◽  
Kinetics Of

Implantation of nitrogen at 150 KeV and a dose of 1 ⊠ 1018/cm2 into (110) silicon results in the formation of an amorphized layer at the mean ion range, and a deeper tail of nitrogen ions. Annealing studies show that the amorphized layer recrystallizes into a continuous polycrystalline Si3N4 layer after annealing for 1 h at 1200 °C. In contrast, the deeper nitrogen fraction forms discrete precipitates (located 1μm below the wafer surface) in less than 1 min at this temperature. The arcal density of these precipitates is 5 ⊠ 107/cm2 compared with a nuclei density of 1.6 ⊠ 105/cm2 in the amorphized layer at comparable annealing times. These data suggest that the nucleation step limits the recrystallization rate of amorphous silicon nitride to form continuous buried nitride layers. The nitrogen located within the damaged crystalline silicon lattice precipitates very rapidly, yielding semicoherent crystallites of β–Si3N4.

Structural relaxation of amorphous silicon carbide thin films in thermal annealing

2008 ◽  
Vol 516 (12) ◽  
pp. 3855-3861 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kun Xue ◽  
Li-Sha Niu ◽  
Hui-Ji Shi ◽  
Jiwen Liu
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Silicon Carbide ◽  
Amorphous Silicon ◽  
Thermal Annealing ◽  
Structural Relaxation ◽  
Amorphous Silicon Carbide
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