Identification of local silicon cluster nanostructures inside SixGe1−x alloy nanocrystals by Raman spectroscopy

By experimentally examining and theoretically analyzing the Raman spectra of Si(x)Ge(1-x) nanocrystal-embedded silica films, we show that the 430 cm(-1) Si-Si optical phonon mode can be used as a fingerprint to identify the existence of local silicon cluster nanostructures inside Si(x)Ge(1-x) nanocrystals with high silicon content.