Structure and energetics of si nanocrystals embedded in a-sio2

The influence of embedding amorphous oxide matrix on the interface properties of Si nanocrystals was analyzed. It was found that the low-energy geometries at the interface were the Si-O-Si bridge bonds. It was observed that the embedding caused substantial deformation in such small Si nanocrystals. It was also found that the interface properties of Si nanocrystals were strongly influenced by the embedding amorphous oxide matrix, especially when they attained sizes smaller than 2nm