Photoluminescence peaks from α-SiOxNy thin films

Amorphous SiOxNy thin films were deposited by PECVD technique. Strong photoluminescence (PL) peaks centering at 330, 340, 345, 735 and 745 nm from prepared samples were observed at room temperature. The relation between PL peaks and the contents of N and O was investigated. The results show that the position of PL peaks is unchanged, and the occurrence of the peaks depends on the coexistence of N and O in the films. The intensity of peak increases to the maximum when the atomic contents of N and O are about 30% and 35% respectively. It indicates that PL peaks might originate from the luminescence centers due to the O-Si-N defect.