Effect of Microcavity Structures on the Photoluminescence of Silicon Nanocrystals

Optical microcavity structures containing Si nanocrystals are fabricated by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) of SiO2 Si3N4 and SiOx layers. The nanocrystals are formed within Si-rich oxide layers (SiOx) by precipitation and growth, and the microcavity structures defined by two parallel distributed Bragg mirrors (DBM) made from either alternate SiO2/Si3N4 layers or alternate SiO2/SiOx layers. In the latter case, Si nanocrystal layers form part of the DBM structure thereby providing a distributed emission source. The optical emission from these and related structures are examined and compared with that from isolated nanocrystal layers