Burlakov, V. M.Briggs, G. A. D.Sutton, A. P.Bongiorno, A.Pasquarello, Alfredo2009-10-082009-10-082009-10-08200410.1103/PhysRevLett.93.135501https://infoscience.epfl.ch/handle/20.500.14299/43462WOS:0002241314000505641We have modeled the decomposition of nonstoichiometric amorphous SiOx upon annealing into silicon and stoichiometric silica, using a new method based on mapping Metropolis Monte Carlo simulations onto rate equations. The concentrations of all oxidation states of silicon are derived as a function of time and found to attain steady-state values at long times dependent on temperature T and oxygen content x. The degree of phase separation and the sizes of Si particles are predicted as a function of T and x, enabling greater control over the size of silicon quantum dots in silica matrices.text::journal::journal article::research article