Electron spin resonance studies of P and B codoped Si nanocrystals

Abstract

P- and/or B-doped Si nanocrystals (Si-ncs) embedded in glass matrices were studied by electron spin resonance (ESR) spectroscopy to investigate the origin of strong room-temperature photoluminescence (PL) of n- and p-type impurities codoped Si-ncs below the band-gap energy of bulk Si crystals. It was shown that the intensity and width of the ESR signal depend strongly on impurity concentrations. A clear correlation was observed between the ESR signal width and the PL intensity. The observed correlation suggests that in addition to the geometrical confinement, P and B codoping further localize carriers in Si-ncs, and the strong localization results in the characteristic luminescence properties.