Two-dimensional percolation threshold in confined Si nanoparticle networks
- Laboratory for Nanotechnology, Department of Microsystems Engineering (IMTEK), University of Freiburg, Georges-Koehler-Allee 103, 79110 Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany)
- Karlsruhe Nano and Micro Facility (KNMF) and Institute of Nanotechnology (INT), Karlsruhe Institute of Technology - KIT, Hermann-von-Helmholtz-Platz 1, 76344 Eggenstein-Leopoldshafen (Germany)
Non-percolating and percolating silicon quantum dot (QD) networks were investigated by plane-view energy filtered transmission electron microscopy (EF-TEM). The Si QD networks were prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition on free standing 5 nm Si{sub 3}N{sub 4} membranes, followed by high temperature annealing. The percolation threshold from non-percolating to percolating networks is found to be in between a SiO{sub x} stoichiometry of SiO{sub 0.5} up to SiO{sub 0.7}. Using the EF-TEM images, key structural parameters of the Si QD ensemble were extracted and compared, i.e., their size distribution, nearest neighbor distance, and circularity. Increasing the silicon excess within the SiO{sub x} layer results in an ensemble of closer spaced, less size-controlled, and less circular Si QDs that give rise to coupling effects. Furthermore, the influence of the structural parameters on the optical and electrical Si QD ensemble properties is discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 22489372
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 108, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2016 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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