Si-ion implantation-induced luminescence from Si single crystals with a SiO2 overlayer

Si-ion implantation into Si single crystals with SiO2 overlayers of various thicknesses was carried out to study the implantation-induced visible light emission. Some new characteristic luminescence bands associated with the thin SiO2 overlayer were observed. A visible band peaked in the range of 1.7 eV was observed after post annealing at 1100 degrees C in a flowing N-2 and this band appeared from the samples covered with a very thin layer (1000 Angstrom). A new luminescence band around 1.5 eV was detected in the samples with a thick SiO2 (3000 Angstrom) layer after post annealing. Possible mechanisms responsible for the observed light emission were also discussed.