Edge electroluminescence of silicon: An amorphous-silicon-crystalline-silicon heterostructure

Silicon edge electroluminescence (EL) was observed on an amorphous-silicon-crystalline-silicon heterostructure (a-Si: H(n)/c-Si(p)) in the temperature range from 77 to 300 K. The room-temperature EL internal quantum efficiency of the heterostructure under study was found to be about 0.1%. A theoretical analysis of the emissive properties of the a-Si: H(n)/c-Si(p) heterostructure was made in terms of the model of an abrupt planar p-n junction and showed that, for optimal doping, the internal quantum efficiency of the EL may be as high as a few percent at a modulation frequency of about 50 kHz.