Study of the excitation properties of the Si₃O₂ cluster under an external electric field

The structure of the Si₃O_x (x=2, 3) cluster is investigated; we find that the geometry of Si₃O₂ is similar to that of Si₃O₃ except for the oxygen-deficient defect structure (Si-Si band) which exists only in the Si₃O₂ cluster. It is known that oxygen-deficient defects are used to explain visible luminescence (especially blue, purple and ultraviolet light) from silicon-based materials, which are directly bound up with the excited states of the molecules. Therefore the excitation properties of the two clusters are also studied. Our results show that the absorption spectrum of Si₃O₂ is concentrated in the visible light region. In contrast, the absorption spectrum of Si₃O₃ is mainly located in the ultraviolet light region. The calculations are perfectly consistent with experimental data and also support the theory of oxygen-deficient defects.