Silicon nanocrystals prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition: Importance of parasitic oxidation for third generation photovoltaic applications

We report on an in-situ oxidation effect during annealing of SiO2/SiO1.0N0.23 multilayers prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD). This in-situ oxidation leads to an undesired growth of the tunneling oxide and also affects the silicon nanocrystal (SiNC) size control, i.e., a NC shrinkage. The origin of this oxidation is identified to be a quasi-wet oxidation by O-H groups incorporated in the PECVD-SiO2 barrier layers. By varying the thickness of the PECVD-SiO2 layer underneath a single SiO1.0N0.23 layer, the extent of NC oxidation is tuned. The shrinkage of SiNCs is proven by a blueshift of the photoluminescence peak position as well as by transmission electron microscopy. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4766284]