Doping efficiency of phosphorus doped silicon nanocrystals embedded in a SiO2 matrix

Strongly size controlled silicon nanocrystals in silicon oxynitride matrix were prepared using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition following the superlattice approach. Doping was achieved by adding diluted phosphine as a precursor gas. Phosphorus quantification was done by secondary ion mass spectrometry. A model based on Poissonian distributions of interface defects and dopants is proposed to calculate the defects and the dopants per silicon nanocrystal as a function of phosphorus concentration. The model requires the comparison between the photoluminescence spectra from passivated and unpassivated samples. Finally, the doping efficiency of silicon nanocrystals embedded in silicon oxynitride is estimated to be >20%. (C) 2012 American Institute of Physics. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4727891]