Luminescence of silicon films on sapphire irradiated with high-energy particles

Using low-temperature (4.2–78 K) photoluminescence, we study the processes of defect formation in silicon films on sapphire irradiated with high-energy particles (electrons, γ-quanta of⁶⁰Co). It is established that carbon atoms, as a residual process impurity, participate in the formation of luminescence centers stable up to annealing temperatures of about 550 K. For carbon-containing centers we reveal a shift in the spectral lines relative to their position in spectra of single-crystal silicon. It is proposed that this spectral shift is associated with the presence of internal stresses of about 5·10⁸ N/m² in the silicon films. Institute of Solid-State Physics and Semiconductors, National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, 17, P. Brovka Str., Minsk, 220072, Belarus. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskefii, Vol. 66, No. 3, pp. 383–386, May–June, 1999.