AVS 52nd International Symposium
    Nanometer-Scale Science and Technology Tuesday Sessions
       Session NS-TuP

Paper NS-TuP7
Si Nanoclusters Embedded in SiO@sub 2@ Layers Produced by Reactive RF Sputtering

Tuesday, November 1, 2005, 4:00 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C&D

Session: Nanometer Scale Science and Technology Poster Session
Presenter: A. Garcia-Sotelo, Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico
Authors: E. Sanchez-Meza, ESFM-IPN, Mexico
A. Garcia-Sotelo, Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico
M. Melendez-Lira, Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico
A. Mendoza-Galvan, Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico
S. Jimenez-Sandoval, Cinvestav-IPN, Mexico
Correspondent: Click to Email
The production of silicon nanonoclusters is an active topic of research because the possibility to produce efficiently light on a silicon based material. We have taken advantage of the morphologic characteristics of the films deposited by the sputtering technique to produce silicon nanoparticles. We have grown silicon nanoclusters embedded in SiO@sub 2@ layers employing reactive RF sputtering. Different partial pressures of Ar/O@sub 2@ were employed to produce the plasma, a 99.999 % pure silicon disk was employed as target. Samples were deposited on substrates of silicon (100) and commercial glass at 400 °C. Samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and room temperature infrared, ellipsometry, photoluminescence and Raman spectroscopies. X ray diffractograms shown that samples grown on silicon present a crystalline structure while films grown on glass are amorphous. Atomic force microscopy shown in both cases the presence of ellipsoidal mounds with axis lengths around 100 nm. Raman spectroscopy presents Raman shifts located at 470 cm@super -1@ due to Si-nanoclusters. Ellipsometry results indicated, in good agreement with the growth procedure, that sample structure correspond to a a-Si+c-Si layer of around 10 nm embedded in layers of SiO@sub 2@. Our results shown that reactive sputtering has a good potential to produce, at low cost, uniform nanoclusters. @FootnoteText@ @footnote 1@work partially funded by CONACyT-México.