Growth of dielectric-embedded silicon nanocrystallites for silicon integrated photonics

Silicon integrated photonics has attracted much attentions recently because of the available of silicon-based quantum devices and optical components. Dielectric films with embedded silicon nanocrystallites (Si-NCs) have been recognized as one of the promising light-emitting materials for this purpose. This work reviews some attempts reported recently for preparing dielectric-embedded Si-NCs based on the conventional CMOS processes. The mechanism for the Si-NCs formation is discussed. The material and light emitting properties of the as-prepared Si-NC embedded in dielectric films are studied in detail.