Depth distribution of luminescent Si nanocrystals in Si implanted SiO2 films on Si

Depth-resolved measurements of the photoluminescence of Si implanted and annealed SiO2 films on Si were conducted to obtain the depth distribution of luminescent Si nanocrystals. It was observed that the defect luminescence centered around lambda = 600 nm mostly comes from a approximately 15 m-thick near-surface region. Large Si nanocrystals emitting at lambda = 900 nm were mostly found in the center of the oxide film, where the Si concentration was highest.