Modeling of the formation and properties of nanocrystals in insulator matrices (SiO2:Si, ZrO2(Y):Zr) produced by ion implantation

The Si⁺-dose dependence of the photoluminescence (PL) intensity at λ=800 nm for the SiO₂ with Si nanoinclusions (NI) and optical transmission for the ZrO₂(Y) with metallic Zr NIs produced by ion implantation are studied. It is shown that dose dependence of PL is defined by the increase of the NI surface density, the mean size of NIs being constant until their merging. The kinetics of NI accumulation is estimated with the Monte Carlo TRIDIN and TRIM codes and taking into account the diffusion of excess atoms and NI nucleation. The earlier revealed mechanisms of a PL enhancement at phosphorus doping are investigated. It is concluded that the PL enhancement is caused by the donor properties of phosphorus in Si NIs (quantum dots) and passivation of broken bonds (nonradiative centers)