https://doi.org/10.1051/epjap/2020190253
Regular Article
Electroluminescence of thin film p-i-n diodes based on a-SiC:H with integrated Ge nanoparticles★
1
FZU– Institute of Physics of the Czech Academy of Sciences, Na Slovance 2, Prague 18221, Czechia
2
A.V. Rzhanov Institute of Semiconductor Physics, Siberian Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Lavrenteva 13, Novosibirsk 630090, Russia
3
Novosibirsk State University, Pirogova Street, 2, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia
* e-mail: remes@fzu.cz
Received:
30
August
2019
Received in final form:
20
October
2019
Accepted:
17
January
2020
Published online: 3 March 2020
Hydrogenated amorphous substoichiometric silicon carbon alloys (a-SiC:H) with and without embedded Ge nanoparticles (NPs) have been prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition combined with in-situ Ge evaporation and annealing on semi-transparent boron doped nano-crystalline diamond coated Ti grids. The presence of Ge NPs embedded in the amorphous phase has been confirmed by transmission electron microscopy and energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy analyses. Current-voltage (I–V) characteristics and near infrared electroluminescence (EL) spectra were measured to compare performance of diodes. The relatively strong EL appears in diodes with integrated Ge NPs near the direct band-gap transition of Ge at about 0.82 eV with an intensity strongly correlating with current density. However, it has also been found that Ge NPs integrated into a-SiC:H significantly deteriorates diode I–V characteristic.
© EDP Sciences, 2020
