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The use of MACE technique on amorphous silicon-rich silicon nitride thin films for the formation of spherical silica nanoparticles

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Abstract

We present a method that employs the metal-assisted chemical etching technique and a subsequent NH3 plasma treatment for obtaining silica nanoparticles (SNPs) uniformly distributed on an amorphous silicon-rich silicon nitride (SRN) film. These particles ranging from 50 to 300 nm are formed directly from the SRN films, and their density is related to the flow rate of the precursor gas (SiCl4). We determined that the SNPs are a SiOx compound (x > 1) with amorphous structure. Furthermore, the chemical composition of the bulk of the remaining SRN film after the etching in a HF/H2O2-based solution and plasma treatment maintain the properties of a pristine one if the initial thickness of the film is large enough (≥ 1 µm). This method enables the formation of silica nanoparticles directly on a silicon-rich silicon nitride film that could have potential optoelectronic applications, implicit in the optical measurements.

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Acknowledgements

All authors would like to acknowledge the support provided by Lázaro Huerta Arcos and M. A. Canseco in the use and interpretation of XPS and FTIR techniques, respectively. The authors are also grateful to Fis. Roberto Hernández and Dr. Samuel Tehuacanero Cuapa for technical assistance in the TEM analysis as well as to Dr. Carlos G. Treviño Palacios for the instrumentation support for I–V measurements. The first author is grateful to the Dirección General de Asuntos del Personal Académico (DGAPA-UNAM) for the granted Postdoctoral Fellowship. This research work was financially supported by projects: (a) Investigación Científica Básica SEP—CONACYT Project Nos.: 283492 and 253754, Conacyt Fronteras 344 (b) PAPIIT-UNAM, Project Nos.: IG100519 (c) CONACyT 253754 and (d) PAPIIT-UNAM, Project Nos.: IA102718 and IN106316.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de Ciencias Aplicadas y Tecnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, A.P. 70-180, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    A. L. Muñoz-Rosas & N. Qureshi

  2. Instituto de Física, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Circuito de la Investigación Científica s/n, Ciudad Universitaria, A.P. 20-364, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    A. Rodríguez-Gómez

  3. Instituto de Investigaciones en Materiales, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, A.P. 70-360, Coyoacán, 04510, Mexico City, Mexico

    J. C. Alonso-Huitrón

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  1. A. L. Muñoz-Rosas
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Correspondence to A. L. Muñoz-Rosas.

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Muñoz-Rosas, A.L., Rodríguez-Gómez, A., Alonso-Huitrón, J.C. et al. The use of MACE technique on amorphous silicon-rich silicon nitride thin films for the formation of spherical silica nanoparticles. J Mater Sci 54, 14296–14308 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10853-019-03937-3

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