Violet luminescence in Ge nanocrystals/Ge oxide structures formed by dry oxidation of polycrystalline SiGe

Nanocrystals of Ge surrounded by a germanium oxide matrix have been formed by dry thermal oxidation of polycrystalline SiGe layers. Violet (3.16 eV) luminescence emission is observed when Ge nanocrystals, formed by the oxidation of the Ge segregated during the oxidation of the SiGe layer, are present, and vanishes when all the Ge has been oxidized forming GeO₂. Based on the evolution of the luminescence intensity and the structure of the oxidized layer with the oxidation time, the recombination of excitons inside the nanocrystals and the presence of defects in the bulk oxide matrix are ruled out as sources of the luminescence. The luminescence is attributed to recombination in defects at the Ge sub-oxide interface between the Ge nanocrystals and the surrounding oxide matrix, which is GeO₂.