# Tight-binding calculations of SiGe alloy nanocrystals in SiO2 matrix

## TL;DR

This paper uses empirical tight-binding calculations to analyze how the electronic states of spherical SiGe nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 depend on Ge composition and size, revealing potential electron mixing effects.

## Contribution

It introduces a detailed tight-binding model for SiGe nanocrystals in SiO2, highlighting the dependence of electronic structure on composition and size.

## Key findings

- Electron mixing with the matrix is possible and composition-dependent.
- Energy and valley structures vary with Ge content and nanocrystal size.
- The study provides insights into electronic behavior in SiGe nanocrystals.

## Abstract

In the empirical tight-binding approach we study the electronic states in spherical SiGe nanocrystals embedded in SiO2 matrix. The energy and valley structure is obtained as a function of Ge composition and nanocrystal size. The calculations show that the mixing of hot electrons in the nanocrystal with electrons in wide band gap matrix is possible and this mixing strongly depends on the Ge composition in the nanocrystal.