Strong ultraviolet photoluminescence from silicon oxide films prepared by magnetron sputtering

Intense ultraviolet photoluminescence centered at 370 nm was observed from magnetron-sputtered silicon oxide films after they were annealed at about 1000 degrees C in N-2 atmosphere. This photoluminescence is found to be associated with the formation of nanocrystal silicon particles in the specially structured SiO2, which highly resembles the oxide layer of porous silicon. The luminescence centers at the interface between the nanocrystal silicon particles and the SiO2 matrix are responsible for the strong ultraviolet luminescence. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics.