Structural imaging of a Si quantum dot: Towards combined PL and TEM characterization

摘要

Individual silicon quantum dots were fabricated by electron-beam lithography, plasma etching and a two-step oxidation process. This enables photoluminescence (PL) from individual dots at various temperatures to be detected and spectrally resolved using a sensitive charge-coupled device camera-imaging system, as reported previously. The regular array-like arrangement of oxidized pillars containing individual nanocrystals, in principle, enables combined transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and low-temperature PL characterization of the same Si quantum dot. To this end, a technique employing focused ion beam was developed for preparation of the pillaranocrystal of interest for TEM. It is shown that silicon quantum dots of several nanometers in size can be characterized using such a method. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.