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Crystallization Behavior of Amorphous Si Nanoinclusions Embedded in Silicon Oxide Matrix
Author(s) -
Sarikov Andrey
Publication year - 2020
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.201900513
Subject(s) - crystallization , materials science , amorphous solid , annealing (glass) , gibbs free energy , oxide , silicon oxide , silicon , nanoparticle , chemical engineering , critical radius , amorphous silicon , thermodynamics , crystallography , nanotechnology , crystalline silicon , composite material , chemistry , metallurgy , physics , silicon nitride , engineering , spheres , astronomy
Herein, crystallization behavior of amorphous Si (a‐Si) nanoparticles embedded in Si oxide matrix is studied thermodynamically. The change of the Gibbs free energy of the Si nanoinclusion/Si oxide matrix system upon crystallization of the Si nanoinclusion core is calculated as a function of normalized core radius. Minimum values of the Gibbs free energy determine equilibrium crystallization states of Si nanoinclusions. The equilibrium radii of the crystallized Si parts normalized with respect to the Si particle radii, as well as the barriers for crystallization, are calculated as functions of Si size and annealing temperature. The degree of Si crystallization is shown to increase with Si nanoparticle size. The existence of minimum critical radius of Si nanoinclusions for the onset of crystallization is demonstrated. Obtained results have a good correlation with available experimental data and contribute to the understanding of the formation of crystalline Si structures in the nanosized Si/Si oxide matrix composites formed by phase separation of nonstoichiometric silicon oxide films during high‐temperature annealing.