Nano Express
Rapid thermal annealing and crystallization mechanisms study of silicon nanocrystal in silicon carbide matrix
ARC Photovoltaics Centre of Excellence, University of New South Wales (UNSW), Sydney, Australia
Nanoscale Research Letters 2011, 6:129 doi:10.1186/1556-276X-6-129
Published: 10 February 2011Abstract
In this paper, a positive effect of rapid thermal annealing (RTA) technique has been researched and compared with conventional furnace annealing for Si nanocrystalline in silicon carbide (SiC) matrix system. Amorphous Si-rich SiC layer has been deposited by co-sputtering in different Si concentrations (50 to approximately 80 v%). Si nanocrystals (Si-NC) containing different grain sizes have been fabricated within the SiC matrix under two different annealing conditions: furnace annealing and RTA both at 1,100°C. HRTEM image clearly reveals both Si and SiC-NC formed in the films. Much better "degree of crystallization" of Si-NC can be achieved in RTA than furnace annealing from the research of GIXRD and Raman analysis, especially in high-Si-concentration situation. Differences from the two annealing procedures and the crystallization mechanism have been discussed based on the experimental results.
