On the role of vacancies in pore formation in the course of anodizing of silicon carbide

Experimental data on the preparation of stoichiometric nanoporous silicon carbide are analyzed. Theoretical calculations are performed under the assumption that nanopores are formed through the vacancy diffusion mechanism. The results obtained confirm the hypothesis that the formation of pores with a steadystate radius of several tens of nanometers in silicon carbide can be associated with the diffusion and clustering of vacancies. The experimental data indicating that the proposed mechanism of formation of nanoporous silicon carbide correlates with the existing model of formation of porous silicon carbide with a fiber structure are discussed. This correlation can be revealed by assuming that nanopores are formed at the first stage with subsequent transformation of the nanoporous structure into a fiber structure due to the dissolution of the material in an electrolyte.     

Photoluminescence of porous silicon saturated with tungsten-tellurite glass with rare-earth metal impurities

It has been shown that the presence of silicon nanoparticles in a layer of porous silicon saturated with tungsten-tellurite glass causes an increase in the photoluminescence quantum efficiency of erbium (1530 nm) by an order of magnitude in the case of long-wavelength excitation and an enhancement of the ytterbium photoluminescence (980 nm) by almost 50 times and erbium photoluminescence by 25 times in the case of short-wavelength pumping. This luminescence enhancement is explained by the formation of additional channels of transfer of external excitation by silicon nanocrystallites in porous silicon to impurity ytterbium and erbium ions in tungsten-tellurite glass.     

Specific features of current flow mechanisms in the semiconductor structure of a photoelectric converter with an <Emphasis Type="Italic">n</Emphasis><Superscript>+</Superscript>–<Emphasis Type="Italic">p</Emphasis>-junction and an antireflective porous silicon film

The temperature dependence of forward and reverse branches of the current–voltage characteristic of the semiconductor structure of a photoelectric converter with an n ⁺–p-junction based on single-crystal silicon and an antireflective porous silicon film on the front surface has been studied. The presence of several current flow mechanisms has been revealed. It has been demonstrated that traps that emerge in the process of the formation of the porous silicon film have a considerable effect on the current flow processes in the semiconductor structure under consideration.     

21世纪的光学和光电子学讲座 第二讲 硅基发光材料和器件研究

硅基发光材料和器件是实现光电子集成的关键．文章评述了目前取得较大进展的几种主要硅基发光材料和器件的研究,包括掺饵硅,多孔硅,纳米硅以及Ｓｉ／ＳｉＯ２ 等超晶格结构材料．展望了这些不同硅基发光材料作为发光器件和在光电集成中的发展前景     

Features and mechanisms of growth of cubic silicon carbide films on silicon

The mechanisms and specific features of the growth of silicon carbide layers through vacuum chemical epitaxy in the range of growth temperatures from 1000 to 700°C have been considered. The structure of the heterojunction formed has been studied using the results of the performed investigations of photoluminescence spectra in the near-infrared wavelength range and the data obtained from the mass spectrometric analysis. It has been found that, in the silicon layer adjacent to the 3C-SiC/Si heterojunction, the concentration of point defects significantly increases and the dislocation structure is not pronounced. According to the morphological examinations of the surface of the growing film, by analogy with the theory of thermal oxidation of silicon, the theory of carbidization of surface silicon layers has been constructed. A distinctive feature of the model under consideration is the inclusion of the counter diffusion fluxes of silicon atoms from the substrate to the surface of the structure. The growth rate of films and the activation energy of diffusion processes have been estimated. The performed experiments in combination with the developed growth model have explained the aggregates of voids observed in practice under the silicon carbide layer formed in the silicon matrix and the possibility of forming a developed surface morphology (the island growth of films) even under conditions using only one flow of hydrocarbons in the reactor.     

Präparation und Supraleitungseigenschaften von Zweikomponenten-Diffusionsschichten auf Niob und Vanadium

Earlier experimental work on one-component diffusion of tin into niobium wire or of silicon into vanadium wire has been carried out to prepare diffusion-layers with high-field superconductive characteristics. As a continuation of these investigations, layers have been prepared on niobium and vanadium wire by simultaneous two-component diffusion out of the vapour phase. Here tin or silicon acts as one of the components diffusing into niobium or vanadium respectively, whilst the second component in each case consists of elements chosen from neighbouring regions of the Periodic System. In most cases the introduction of the second component into the diffusion layers results in a decrease of the transition temperature observed for one-component diffusion. It is most probable that this decrease is caused by the high vapour pressure of the second component compared with that of the first, tin or silicon. This would result in diffusion-layers having a greater concentration of the second component. However, it is also to be expected that the rate of diffusion ratio of the two components, which is strongly temperature-dependent, has an important effect on the constitution of the diffusion-layers.     

Synthesis and Optical Properties of Films Formed by the Sol‐Gel Method in Mesoporous Matrices

The main laws governing the formation of films by the solgel method in the mesopores of anodic aluminum oxide, porous silicon, and synthetic opals have been considered. Investigations of the luminescence at 1.5 m in the structure porous silicon–gel, doped with erbium, have been analyzed. Special features of the synthesis of the film structure microporous xerogel–mesoporous anodic aluminum oxide, doped with erbium, terbium, and europium, and the possible factors that enhance the photoluminescence of lanthanides in the structure are shown.     

Properties of erbium silicate doped with chromium in porous silicon

The possible formation of chromium-doped erbium silicate Er₂SiO₅: Cr in thin layers of porous silicon is demonstrated. This paper reports on studies of the photoluminescence, electron paramagnetic resonance, and transverse current transport in porous silicon layers (with different chromium and erbium contents) grown on n-and p-silicon single crystals heavily doped with shallow impurities. The Er₂SiO₅: Cr phase with the photoluminescence maxima at approximately 1.3 and 1.5 μm manifests itself after high-temperature annealing at 1000°C. The introduction of erbium and annealing at 700°C increase the intensity of the red photoluminescence of porous silicon by several factors. The decrease in the electrical conductivity of porous silicon suggests the onset of the formation of erbium silicate. The current-voltage characteristics exhibit a nonlinear behavior with an exponential dependence of the current on the voltage due to the discrete electron tunneling. An electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of P _b centers in p-type heavily doped silicon is observed for the first time.     

Vibronic and electric properties of semiconductor structures based on butyl-substituted mono-and triphthalocyanine containing erbium ions

The Raman spectra have been obtained and the temperature dependence of the conductivity of organic semiconductor structures based on butyl-substituted erbium monophthalocyanine and erbium triphthalocyanine has been studied. It has been found experimentally that the activation energy decreases dramatically and the Raman spectra exhibits four new peaks in the region of large Raman shifts as the molecular structure of the samples becomes more complicated.     

Synchrotron investigations of the specific features in the electron energy spectrum of silicon nanostructures

The Si L _{2, 3} x-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectra of porous silicon nanomaterials and nanostructures with epitaxial silicon layers doped by erbium or containing germanium quantum dots are measured using synchrotron radiation for the first time. A model of photoluminescence in porous silicon is proposed on the basis of the results obtained. According to this model, the photoluminescence is caused by interband transitions between the energy levels of the crystalline phase and oxide phases covering silicon nanocrystals. The stresses generated in surface silicon nanolayers by Ge quantum dots or clusters with incorporated Er atoms are responsible for the fine structure of the spectra in the energy range of the conduction band edge and can stimulate luminescence in these nanostructures.     

光声谱研究多孔碳化硅的能带特性

报道了用UV光照射和不用UV光照射条件下形成的p型α PSC以及原始SiC的光声光谱（PAS）.从光声Rosenwaig Gersho理论出发，计算出多孔SiC的吸收系数与能量的关系，得到多孔SiC的能隙低于原始SiC的能隙，并深入分析了能隙的变化原因，同时，对吸收边附近的吸收情况进行了讨论. 关键词： 光声光谱 多孔碳化硅 能隙     

Luminescent properties of semiconductor composite systems composed of erbium triphthalocyanine molecules and a silicon slot structure in the near-infrared region

Photoluminescence spectra of organic semiconductors based on mono-, bis-, and triphthalocyanine containing erbium as a complexing agent have been obtained in the range of 1–1.8 μm. Comparison of the spectral characteristics has shown that erbium triphthalocyanine has the highest photoluminescence quantum yield at a wavelength of 1.5 μm. To enhance this effect, composite materials based on erbium triphthalocyanine and a silicon slot structure have been synthesized, in which an additional increase in the photoluminescence signal near 1.14 μm has been observed. At the same time, no photoluminescence signal has been observed near the wavelength of 1.5 μm. This can be explained by taking into account the interaction of the erbium triphthalocyanine molecules with the adsorption centers of the silicon matrix.     

Effect of ion irradiation on the structure and luminescence characteristics of porous silicon impregnated with tungsten-telluride glass doped by Er and Yb impurities

Using transmission electron microscopy and elemental analysis, it has been shown that tungsten telluride glass (TTG) containing erbium and ytterbium as impurities penetrates into pores of porous silicon (PS) when melted in vacuum at 500°C. It has been found that the intensity of photoluminescence (PL) of erbium at the wavelength of 1.54 μm in PS: TTG layers increases by a factor of up to 5 in the layers irradiated by P⁺ and Ar⁺ ions. This is assigned to ion mixing which favors interaction among the Er ions and PS-embedded Si nanocrystals initiating sensitization of the PL, as well as to broadening of the glass-impregnated PS region. Implantation of the lighter Ne⁺ ions affects only weakly the PL of erbium ions.     

Study of the microporosity in nanoporous carbon films by small-angle X-ray scattering

The structural difference in the microporous structures of nanoporous carbon films is revealed by small-angle X-ray scattering; it consists in a higher porosity of the layers formed from the titanium carbide. The pore shape is shown to be equiaxed. Pores 20 Å in diameter mainly contribute to the porosity of the nanoporous carbon films. The characteristics of the porous structure of the nanoporous carbon layers synthesized from the titanium or silicon carbide are found using small-angle X-ray scattering. The porous structure is shown to consist of two size fractions of equiaxed pores 10 and 40 Å in radius. The porosity of the films is mainly contributed by the pores of the small size fraction; their fraction is 46 or 10% for the layers synthesized from the titanium or silicon carbide, respectively.     

Stable blue-green and ul traviolet photoluminescence from silicon carbide on porous silicon

β-Silicon carbide layers have been prepared by high temperature pyrolysis of polyimide Langmuir-Blodgett films on porous silicon substrate in vacuum. The formation of silicon carbide is confirmed by the IR and XRD spectra. It is found that photoluminescence still exists and appears in the blue-green and ultraviolet regions after thermal treatment at 900°C. These results indicate that the silicon carbide layers, which are formed, are responsible for the blue-green luminescence.     

Evolution of the symmetry of intermediate phases and their phonon spectra during the topochemical conversion of silicon into silicon carbide

A symmetry analysis of the crystal structure and the phonon spectrum during continuous topochemical conversion of silicon into silicon carbide has been carried out. The transformation of the symmetry of phonons at high-symmetry points of the Brillouin zone upon the transition from the initial cubic structure of silicon (diamond) through an intermediate cubic structure of silicon carbide to the trigonal structure of SiC has been determined. The selection rules for the infrared and Raman spectra of all the three phases under investigation have been established.     

Classification and structure of silicon carbide phases

Molecular-mechanical and semiempirical quantum-mechanical methods have been applied to simulate and calculate a geometrically optimized structure of clusters of polymorphic types of silicon carbide, and their structural parameters and some properties (densities, sublimation energies) have been determined. A classification of silicon carbide phases has been proposed, which shows the possible existence of twenty one SiC phases whose atoms are at crystallographically equivalent sites. The structures of seventeen proposed silicon carbide phases have been described and studied for silicon carbide for the first time.     

Microstructure of nanocrystalline nonstoichiometric vanadium carbide VC0.875

A nanocrystalline powder of nonstoichiometric vanadium carbide VC_0.875 has been prepared by the high-energy ball milling method. The crystal structure, microstructure, morphology, and size distribution of particles of the initial and milled powders have been investigated using X-ray diffraction, laser diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy. For vanadium carbide, the model calculation of the particle size of a VC_0.875 nanopowder as a function of the milling duration has been performed for the first time. A comparison of the experimental and theoretical results has demonstrated that a nanopowder with an average particle size of 40–80 nm can be obtained by a 10-h high-energy ball milling of the initial vanadium carbide powder with an average particle size of ～6 μm.     

Vanadium carbide coatings on die steel deposited by the thermo-reactive diffusion technique

Thermal reactive diffusion coating of vanadium carbide on DIN 1.2367 die steel substrate was performed in a powder mixture consisting of ferro-vanadium, ammonium chloride, alumina and naphthalene at 950, 1050 and 1150 °C for 1-5 h. The carbide layers were characterized by means of microstructure, microhardness, X-ray diffraction and chemical analysis. Depending on the coating process time and temperature, the thickness of the vanadium carbide layer formed on the substrate ranged from 2.3 to 23.2 μm. The hardness of vanadium carbide layers was about 2487 HV. Dry wear tests for uncoated and coated DIN 1.2367 die steel were carried out on pin-on-disk configuration and at a sliding speed of 0.13 m/s. The results showed superior wear properties of the coated samples. The kinetics of vanadium carbide coating by the pack method was also studied and the activation energy for the thermo-reactive diffusion process was estimated to be 173.2 kJ/mol.