By combining electron paramagnetic resonance measurements with ab initio calculations, the VCCSi(SiCCSi) complex was identified as being a second annealing product of the Si vacancy via an analysis of resolved C hyperfine interactions and of the zero-field splitting parameter of its excited triplet state. At high temperatures, the C vacancy could dissociate from this complex; leaving behind a diamagnetic SiC(CSi)2 complex. This was proposed to be an excellent candidate for causing the DI photoluminescence spectrum. The calculated local vibration modes fitted well with the characteristic phonon-assisted structure of the photoluminescence spectra. The model provided a detailed explanation for the excitonic electron-hole recombination that was responsible for the DI luminescence.

Silicon Vacancy Annealing and DI Luminescence in 6H-SiC. M.V.B.Pinheiro, E.Rauls, U.Gerstmann, S.Greulich-Weber, H.Overhof, J.M.Spaeth: Physical Review B, 2004, 70[24], 245204 (15pp)