Modeling of the refractive index and composition of luminescent nanometric chlorinated-silicon nitride films with embedded Si-quantum dots

The refractive index of nanometric (<100 nm) chlorinated-silicon nitride films with embedded silicon quantum dots, prepared by remote plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition was investigated by spectroscopic ellipsometry. The complex refractive indexes and thicknesses of the films were obtained from the ellipsometric measurements using the Cauchy model. The chemical composition of the bulk of the films, including the hydrogen, chlorine, and oxygen content, was measured by elastic forward analysis (EFA) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The EFA and XPS results indicate that the films are composed of nearly stoichiometric silicon nitride (Si3N4) with different amounts of hydrogen, chlorine, and oxygen, and that their top surface is oxidized. Based on the composition results the refractive index of the films was fitted using the effective medium approximation considering the system: Si substrate + Si3N4 + Si + voids + top ultrathin oxidized surface layer.