High-temperature annealing of thin silicon suboxide films produced by the method of gas-jet chemical deposition with activation by electron-beam plasma

Thin films of amorphous nonstoichiometric silicon oxide (а-SiO$_{x}$:H, $0<x<2$) have been synthesized by gas-jet deposition with activation by an electron-beam plasma. The stoichiometric coefficient of the а-SiO$_{x}$:H films was varied in the range 0.47–1.63 depending on the parameter $R$ determined by the mixture flow rate Ar–SiH$_4$. High-temperature (at a temperature of 950$^\circ$C for 2 h) annealing of а-SiO$_{x}$:H thin films led to the formation of 8.3–12.3 nm crystalline silicon nanoparticles. It is shown that with an increase in the parameter $R$, the degree of crystallinity of the annealed films increases up to 66%. It has been suggested that the position of the peak of nanocrystalline silicon in the Raman spectra is affected by mechanical stresses. As a result of a quantitative assessment of such a stress, the values of 1.0–1.7 GPa are obtained.