Nano-Order Structural Analysis of White Light-Emitting Silicon Oxide Prepared by Successive Thermal Carbonization/Oxidation of the Porous Silicon

Abstract

Recently the present authors’ group found that porous silicon showed strong and stable white/white-blue light emission after successive thermal carbonization and oxidation by water vapor. This material can be considered as a price-competitive solid-state white-light source. We examined these layers by electron energy-loss spectroscopy (EELS), energy-filtering transmission electron microscopy (EFTEM). The EEL spectra indicated that the silicon skeleton in the porous layer was completely oxidized by the thermal treatment in wet argon ambient and multi-types of carbon phases were present in the 1073 K oxidized sample of stronger emission, while carbon complexes including Si and/or O were formed in the 1223 K oxidized sample of weaker light emission. EF-TEM images showed that carbon/oxygen were more uniformly distributed in the 1223 K oxidized sample. It is assumed that the strong light-emitting properties are controlled by the size and internal chemical bonding states of carbon clusters incorporated.