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Ostwald ripening in segregated Si x N/Si y N multilayers
Author(s) -
Jiang Xiaofan,
Ma Zhongyuan,
Yu Jie,
Ren Sheng,
Yang Huafeng,
Li Wei,
Xu Jun,
Xu Ling,
Chen Kunji,
Huang Xinfan,
Feng Duan
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
physica status solidi (a)
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.532
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1862-6319
pISSN - 1862-6300
DOI - 10.1002/pssa.201532897
Subject(s) - ostwald ripening , annealing (glass) , materials science , silicon , crystallography , coalescence (physics) , grain size , raman spectroscopy , microstructure , nanocrystal , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , analytical chemistry (journal) , nanotechnology , chemistry , metallurgy , nuclear magnetic resonance , physics , astrobiology , optics , chromatography
In this study, we investigate the microstructure and formation of segregated silicon nanocrystals (nc‐Si) from annealed Si‐rich Si x N/Si y N multilayers. It is found the nc‐Si are separated and arranged in every sublayer with two different grain sizes. Through XPS and Raman analysis, it is discovered that Si atoms diffuse from the Si y N sublayers with smaller nc‐Si to the Si x N sublayers with larger nc‐Si during annealing. Meanwhile, the grain size of Si x N sublayers increase and that of Si y N sublayers decrease, compared to single layer sample. It is suggested that the atomic diffusion with grain size change phenomenon is ascribed to coalescence‐like growth followed by Ostwald ripening process, which eventually results in Si atoms transport from small Si clusters in Si y N sublayers to large Si cluster in Si x N sublayers and forms the segregated nc‐Si multilayers. This work gives us better understanding of the nc‐Si growth and atomic diffusion in annealed Si‐rich multilayers.