Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Synthesis and characterization of P-doped amorphous and nanocrystalline Si

Journal Article · · Polyhedron
Intentional impurity doping lies at the heart of the silicon technology. The dopants provide electrons or holes as necessary carriers of the electron current and can significantly modify the electric, optical and magnetic properties of the semiconductors. P-doped amorphous Si (a-Si) was prepared by a solid state and solution metathesis reaction of a P-doped Zintl phase precursor, NaSi0.99P0.01, with an excess of NH4X (X = Br, I). After the salt byproduct was removed from the solid state reaction, the a-Si material was annealed at 600 °C under vacuum for 2 h, resulting in P-doped nanocrystalline Si (nc-Si) material embedded in a-Si matrix. The product from the solution reaction also shows a combination of nc-Si embedded in a-Si; however, it was fully converted to nc-Si after annealing under argon at 650 °C for 30 min. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) show the amorphous nature of the P-doped Si material before the annealing and the nanocrystallinity after the annealing. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy shows that the P-doped Si material surface is partially capped by H and O or with solvent. Finally, electron microprobe wavelength dispersive spectroscopy (WDS) as well as energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) confirm the presence of P in the Si material. 29Si and 31P solid state magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (MAS NMR) spectroscopy data provide the evidence of P doping into the Si structure with the P concentration of approximately 0.07 at.%.
Research Organization:
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Richland, WA (US), Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory (EMSL)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC05-76RL01830
OSTI ID:
1091483
Report Number(s):
PNNL-SA-89833; 47296
Journal Information:
Polyhedron, Journal Name: Polyhedron Journal Issue: C Vol. 58; ISSN 0277-5387
Publisher:
Elsevier
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

Similar Records

Amorphous and nanocrystalline luminescent Si and Ge obtained via a solid-state chemical metathesis synthesis route
Journal Article · Mon Mar 14 23:00:00 EST 2005 · Journal of Solid State Chemistry · OSTI ID:20725857

Synthesis and spectroscopic characterization of P-doped Na{sub 4}Si{sub 4}
Journal Article · Sun Nov 14 23:00:00 EST 2010 · Journal of Solid State Chemistry · OSTI ID:21494106

Thermal stability of sputter deposited nanocrystalline W{sub 2}N/amorphous Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} coatings
Journal Article · Tue Nov 14 23:00:00 EST 2006 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films · OSTI ID:20853797