First-Principles Calculation of the Optical Properties of Nanocrystalline Silicon

ABSTRACTThe electronic structure and optical properties of nanocrystalline silicon were calculated by the first-principles density functional pseudopotential approach. The calculated energy-gap upshift from the bulk-Si value is nearly proportional to the reciprocal of the crystallite size. Dipole transitions across the gap are weakly allowed and the transition elements decrease rapidly with increases in the crystallite size. The apparent lifetime, the time over which the intensity decreases to 1/e of the initial value, decreases sharply from milliseconds to microseconds within a certain temperature range. The effect of dehydrogenation and the structural stability were investigated using an ab initio molecular dynamics technique. When some of the surface hydrogen atoms are removed, subsequent lattice relaxation eliminates dangling bonds. Further dehydrogenation creates mid-gap states due to surface dangling bonds, which act as nonradiative recombination centers. The calculated results are compared with observations of porous Si.