Temperature-Dependent Growth of Crystalline Silicon Quantum Dots Embedded in Silicon Nitride

The crystalline silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) depending on growth temperature were investigated using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The size of Si QDs was increased with increasing growth temperature and the ratio between silicon-related gas flow and nitrogen-related gas flow. This is because the growth rate of Si QDs decreases due to surface sites blocking by hydrogen. Hydrogen atoms dissociated from N-H and Si-H could promote the growth of crystalline phase silicon QDs.