Room-temperature measurements were made of the photoluminescence spectra of thermally oxidized thin films which had been grown onto Si substrates by means of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, and wet oxidized (1100C, 1200s). A photoluminescence band with a peak at about 393nm was observed under an exciting radiation of 241nm. The photoluminescence was attributed to 2-fold coordinated Si in O-Si-O (Si20) or O-Ge-O (Ge20) defects. The C atoms in the films assisted the formation of such defects during wet oxidation.

Room-Temperature Blue Luminescence of Thermally Oxidized Si1-x-yGexCy Thin Films on Si (100) Substrates. X.Cheng, Y.Zheng, X.Liu, L.Zang, Z.Lo, S.Zhu, P.Han, R.Jiang: Applied Physics Letters, 1999, 75[21], 3333-5