Investigation of the thermal charge “trapping-detrapping” in silicon nanocrystals: Correlation of the optical properties with complex impedance spectra

The charge confinement in silicon nanocrystals over the temperature range 35–300 K was investigated by complex impedance spectroscopy (CIS). A charge response found in the “dark” (i.e., no laser pumping) CIS spectrum indicated a frequency shift with temperature, which was well correlated with the temperature dependent photoluminescence (PL) intensity. From equivalent circuit analyses of this frequency shift, we were able to determine the charge …