Thermal Decomposition of Silicon-rich Oxides Deposited by the LPCVD Method

Silicon-rich oxide (SiOx, 0 < x < 2) thin films were deposited using the Low Pressure Chemical Vapor Deposition (LPCVD) method at temperature of 570 degrees C using silane (SiH4) and oxygen as the reactant gasses. The films were annealed at temperatures of 800, 900, 1000, and 1100 degrees C to induce the separation of excess silicon in the SiOx films into nanosized crystalline silicon particles inside an amorphous SiOx matrix. The size of the silicon particles was determined using Raman spectroscopy