Raman investigation of the electron-phonon interaction in n-type silicon nanocrystals

Silicon nanocrystals prepared in phosphorus-doped (at a concentration of 3.3 × 1020 cm−3) amorphous silicon films under pulsed irradiation with an excimer laser are studied using Raman spectroscopy and electron microscopy. The experimental data can be interpreted in terms of the Fano interference as a manifestation of the electron-phonon interaction effects in n-type silicon nanocrystals. It is assumed that a strong electron-phonon interaction (as compared to similar interactions in n-type bulk silicon) is due to the weakening of the momentum selection rules in nanocrystals.