Photoluminescence of Ge(Si)/Si(0 0 1) self-assembled islands in the near infra-red wavelength range

The dependence of photoluminescence spectra of structures with GeSi/Si(0 0 1) self-assembled nanoislands on growth temperature has been investigated. It was shown that the redshift of the island-related photoluminescence peak with a decrease of the growth temperature is associated with suppression of Si diffusion in the islands and an increase of Ge content in them. For the first time a photoluminescence signal from SiGe islands was observed at energies much lower than the Ge band gap. The energy position of the island-related photoluminescence peak is well described by the model of optical transition, which is indirect in real space. The photoluminescence signal at 1.55 μm from GeSi/Si(0 0 1) self-assembled islands was obtained up to room temperature.     

Enhanced photoluminescence in grooved silicon microstructures

Grooved silicon structures formed by anisotropic chemical etching of crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers in alkaline solution and composed by c-Si walls and voids (grooves) with thicknesses of several micrometers were found to exhibit efficient photoluminescence after excitation with laser radiation at 1.06 μm. The photoluminescence emission which originates from the interband radiative recombination of charge carriers in c-Si walls was represented by a broad spectral band centered at 1.1 eV. Independently on the polarization direction of the excitation light the photoluminescence of grooved silicon structures was partially linear-polarized with the polarization degree of 0.15–0.24 along c-Si walls and the photoluminescence intensity was strongly enhanced in comparison with that of c-Si substrate. These experimental observations are explained by considering an enhancement of the photoluminescence excitation due to both partial light localization in c-Si walls and a low rate of the non-radiative recombination at surface defects on c-Si walls. The defect density could be modified by additional chemical treatment or thermal annealing, which resulted in significant changes of the photoluminescence intensity of the grooved Si structures. The obtained results are discussed in view of possible applications of grooved Si in optoelectronics and molecular sensorics.     

Luminescence of thulium-activated cubic boron nitride

Under high pressure and temperature conditions, we have obtained samples of thulium-activated cubic boron nitride in the form of micropowders, ceramics, and polycrystals activated by thulium in the presence of aluminum. We studied the cathodoluminescence (CL), photoluminescence (PL), and photoluminescence excitation spectra of the samples. In the luminescence spectra we observe structured bands with maxima at ∼370, ∼475, ∼660, and ∼ 800 nm, assigned to electronic transitions in the triply charged thulium ions. We have established that the most efficient method for excitation of “blue” luminescence at ∼475 nm for thulium ions in cBN is excitation by an electron beam. The cBN samples synthesized in the presence of Al have photoluminescence spectra with a more complex structure compared with samples not containing Al, with the band of dominant intensity at about 660 nm. Hypothetically, this is a consequence of incorporation of thulium ions into the crystalline phases cBN and AlN, which are equally likely to be formed during synthesis. The observed photoluminescence spectrum of the indicated samples is the superposition of the photoluminescence spectra of the Tm³⁺ ions located in the crystal fields of cBN and AlN of different symmetries. The presence in the photoluminescence excitation spectra (at 450, 490, and 660 nm) of structure, with features at wavelengths shorter than the excited photoluminescence, suggests a nonresonant mechanism for its excitation. We have established that luminescence of Tm³⁺ ions is less intense than for other rare earth elements incorporated into cubic boron nitride. __________ Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 75, No. 4, pp. 547–555, July–August, 2008.     

Effects of hydrogen on photoluminescence properties of a-SiNx:H films prepared by VHF-PECVD

Luminescent hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride films were prepared with different hydrogen flow rate in very high frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition system. Very bright orange-red light emissions can be clearly observed with the naked eye in a bright room for the films grown at the hydrogen flow rate of 30 sccm. The photoluminescence intensity of the film grown at the hydrogen flow rate of 30 sccm is found to be four times higher than that of the film without hydrogen dilution. However, with further increasing the hydrogen flow rate from 30 to 90 sccm, the photoluminescence intensity of the film rapidly decreases. Fourier-transform infrared absorption spectra indicate that the introduction of hydrogen concentration bonded to silicon and nitrogen is of a key role to enhance the photoluminescence intensity of the films. Based on the measurements of structural and bonding configurations, the improved photoluminescence intensity is attributed to the well hydrogen passivation of nonradiative defect states related to N and Si at proper hydrogen flow rate.     

Influence of the environment on disperse SiO2 photoluminescence

The spectra of disperse SiO₂ photoluminescence in vacuum and in air are observed to differ markedly. With evacuation or admission of air the photoluminescence abruptly changes by a factor of approximately 1.6 and the spectrum pattern changes for a time<1 sec. The photoluminescence bands with maxima at 370 and 395 nm are attributed to the surface luminescence centers and are observed only in vacuum. It is shown that the kinetics of the adsorption and desorption processes in the disperse SiO₂ can be recorded by the photoluminescence method. Translated from Zhurnal Prikladnoi Spektroskopii, Vol. 66, No. 6, pp. 814–818, November–December, 1999.     

Photoluminescence study of Ce-doped silica films

Ce-doped silica films with different Ce concentrations were prepared by ion-beam sputtering and ion implantation. The films containing 1.2 at% Ce were annealed at temperatures from 500 °C to 1200 °C in air ambient, and were annealed in different ambient at 1100 °C. Ce-related photoluminescence was observed in films sensitive to the Ce concentrations, annealing temperatures and the annealing ambient. The peak intensity of the photoluminescence band is approximately linear with Ce concentrations. Also, the photoluminescence intensity is dependent on the annealing temperatures and reaches its highest value after annealing at 700 °C. In addition, the experimental results show that compared with the annealing in an air ambient, the photoluminescence intensity can be enhanced with nitrogen gas. There would be no obvious change for the photoluminescence position or shape.     

Photoluminescence Response from the Chromian Clinochlore (Kammererite)

The three-dimensional photoluminescence emissions between 450 and 800 nm of kammererite from Turkey were obtained at the temperatures between 230 and 350 K under 366 nm excitation. The most advantage of three-dimensional photoluminescence is to demonstrate clearly all vibronic structures through temperature increasing on the spectra. Hence, photoluminescence response from the unique gem material was discussed in relation to chemical impurities. In the photoluminescence spectra, two strong and three weaker emission bands became clear at the lower temperature conditions. First strong green band with the highest emission peak at 545 nm, and second strong yellowish-orange band with the highest emission peak at 610 nm were observed at 230 K. The half-width of the main bands is approximately 10–12 nm and such band's combination is typical for trivalent rare-earth elements. These two strong emission bands are due to europium and gadolinium ions, respectively. In addition, the weaker emission bands at 485, 585, and 615 nm were detected at mainly 230 K. The bands peaked at 485 was attributed to lanthanum, lutetium, promethium, scandium, and yttrium centers, and 585 nm was attributed to dysprosium center. Since, the abundances of these rare-earth elements produced relatively strong luminescence bands in the spectra. Finally, the weakest band peaked at 615 nm was attributed to neodymium. As a result, the intensities of these bands gradually decreased forming a sequence until the temperature of 280 K. The lanthanum is the main responsible ion that extinguishes the photoluminescence at the relatively higher temperature conditions in the minerals. Therefore, the photoluminescence of kammererite exists at low temperatures only, because of mainly high lanthanum (90 ppm) abundance.     

Inter-Layer Energy Transfer through Wetting-Layer States in Bi-layer InGaAs/GaAs Quantum-Dot Structures with Thick Barriers

The inter-layer energy transfer in a bi-layer InGaAs/GaAs quantum dot structure with a thick GaAs barrier is studied using temperature-dependent photoluminescence. The abnormal enhancement of the photoluminescence of the QDs in the layer with a larger amount of coverage considering the resonant Forster energy transfer between the at 110K is observed, which can be explained by wetting layer states at elevated temperatures.     

Porous silicon with β-cyclodextrin modified surface for photoluminescence sensing of organic molecules in gas and liquid phase

Porous silicon surface was modified by photochemically activated hydrosilylation reaction with permethyl-6^I-alkenoylamino-6^I-deoxy-β-cyclodextrins terminated with linear alkenoyl spacers of various lengths. As compared to unmodified surface, derivatized surfaces revealed modified photoluminescence response in the presence of controlled amounts of various organic molecules in gas and liquid phase. For the selected set of analytes we observed most significant modification of photoluminescence response for aromatic compounds what corresponds to optimum molecular size for strong host–guest interaction with β-cyclodextrin cavity. Aliphatic compounds quenched photoluminescence from both unmodified and surface modified porous silicon. For low gas phase concentrations of aromatic analytes β-cyclodextrin modified porous silicon revealed photoluminescence enhancement, at higher concentrations common photoluminescence quenching was observed. The size-dependent host–guest interaction between β-cyclodextrin cavity and detected molecule was observed in photoluminescence quenching in the presence of aliphatic molecules in liquid phase. The role of the strength of host–guest interactions between detected analytes and β-cyclodextrin cavity on photoluminescence sensor response is discussed.     

Phonon satellites and time-resolved studies of carrier recombination dynamics in InGaN quantum wells

We have studied the photoluminescence and time-resolved photoluminescence of a set of InGaN quantum wells with well thickness from 1 to 7.5 nm. An analysis of the phonon satellites at 5 K shows Huang–Rhys factors from 0.32 to 0.44. The increase of this factor is caused by the electron–hole separation induced by the piezoelectric field. The time-resolved photoluminescence at room temperature shows that the decay time of the 1 and 2 nm wells does not depend on the wavelength. The maximum decay time is around 600 ps for the 2, 3 and 4 nm wells. However, for the 3 and 4 nm wells a decrease of the photoluminescence decay time is observed at the highest wavelengths. This suggest the onset of a non-radiative process in these samples. The optimum well width for efficient emission for these single quantum wells was found to be 2 nm.     

Hole localization effect on determination of charge accumulation in double barrier resonant tunneling structures

We have investigated photoluminescence of double-barrier diodes under various bias voltages and observed the saturation of the broadening of the photoluminescence lines. We have also studied the integrated photoluminescence intensity with increasing applied voltages near resonant voltages for high quality samples at low temperature (4.2K). The results of the 77K photoluminescence experiments confirm those at 4.2K. The saturation of the broadening is due to weak hole localization; however, the saturation of the integrated photoluminescence intensity is mainly due to reduced nonradiative recombination. Our results suggest that the hole localization may arise from interface roughness.     

用小功率He-Ne激光器测量Ga1-xAlxAs外延片表面组份的均匀性

本文描述了一种简便可靠的分析Ga1-xAlxAs外延片表面组份均匀性的光学方法.在300K下,用小功率He-Ne激光器作光源,对x<0.39的n型和p型外延层进行了光致发光测量.依据光谱峰值获得表面的x值与扫描电镜所得结果相符.通过激发表面不同点处测得的光致发光光谱的位移,可以迅速而直观地分析出x值分布的均匀性.     

Photostability of single-photon emission from a single quantum dot in the 650-nm wavelength band at room temperature

The photoluminescence correlation from a single CdSe nanocrystal under pulsed excitation is studied, and a single photon is realized at wavelength 655 nm at room temperature. The single colloidal CdSe quantum dot is prepared on a SiO₂/silicon surface by a drop-and-drag technique. The long-term stability of the single-photon source is investigated; it is found that the antibunching effect weakens with excitation time, and the reason for the weakening is attributed to photobleaching. The lifetimes of photoluminescence from a single quantum dot are analyzed at different excitation times. By analyzing the probability distribution of on and off times of photoluminescence, the Auger assisted tunneling and Auger assisted photobleaching models are applied to explain the antibunching phenomenon.     

Electron–hole states in the fractional quantum Hall regime probed by photoluminescence

The electron–hole states in the fractional quantum Hall regime is investigated with a back-gated undoped quantum well by photoluminesccence in magnetic fields. The evolution of the photoluminescence spectra is discussed depending on the electron density. We find anomalies of the photoluminescence at the integer as well as the fractional filling factors.     

Morphology and photoluminescence of self-assembled GeSi/Si nanoclusters grown by sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy in a GeH<Subscript>4</Subscript> ambient

The dependence of the morphology and photoluminescence spectra of GeSi/Si(001) heterostructures with self-assembled nanoclusters, obtained by sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy in a GeH₄ ambient, on the growth conditions has been analyzed. The conditions for obtaining structures with uniform nanocluster arrays exhibiting photoluminescence at room temperature have been determined.     

Photovoltaic spectra of undoped GaAsAl0.25Ga0.75As multiple quantum well structures: Correlation with photoluminescence

The photovoltaic spectra of molecular beam epitaxy GaAsAl_0.25Ga_0.75As multiple quantum wells in the vicinity of the n=1 sub-bandgap region and their correlation with the corresponding photoluminescence spectra have been studied in the temperature range 2–297K. Photovoltaic and photoluminescence spectra are found to agree for the transition of the n=1 heavy- and light-hole excitons. The photovoltaic spectra in the Schottky-barrier configuration show as the relative maxima and minima at the corresponding exciton photoluminescence lines. A possible model of the observed coincidence of photoluminescence and photovoltage is discussed.     

Photoluminescence of a soluble polypyrrole based on N-vinylpyrrole

Photoluminescence of a novel polypyrrole based on N-vinylpyrrole was systematically observed in organic solutions. The polymer, which has a unique molecular structure, exhibited good photoluminescence in organic solutions. The emission peak of the polymer exhibited one strong green emission band at around 510 nm in common organic solutions. The maximum fluorescence quantum yield of the polymer was found to be 0.16 in NMP solution with fluorescein as standard. At the same concentration, the photoluminescence intensity increased in the order of CHCl₃, THF, DMSO, CH₂Cl₂ and NMP. The photoluminescence spectrum had a slight red shift as the polarity of the solvents increased. The photoluminescence intensity also increased with the polarity of the solvent, except DMSO. This is because of its hygroscopicity in air and its viscosity. In THF solutions, the photoluminescence intensity increased until the concentration reached a certain weight percent (3.0×10⁻² wt.%) and then decreased with higher concentrations. This was most likely due to quenching in the aggregate phase. Furthermore, iron ion was a quencher in the DMSO solution. In a mixed solvent system of DMSO and water, water showed a typical quenching effect.     

Combinatorial thin film sputtering investigation of cerium concentration in Lu2SiO5 scintillators

Lutetium oxyorthosilicate (LSO) thin films with a cerium thickness gradient were sputter deposited to investigate the optimum cerium concentration for emission intensity. Thin film cerium concentration ranged from 0.06 to 0.88 at%. To compare the thin film samples to single crystal LSO, a set of single crystal LSO samples were investigated with cerium concentrations of 0.0015, 0.0095 and 0.078 at%. The thin film samples showed peak photoluminescence emission intensity at a cerium concentration of 0.35 at%; however, the single crystal samples exhibited peak photoluminescence emission intensity at a lower cerium concentration of 0.0095 at%. The photoluminescence excitation and emission spectra as a function of concentration demonstrate the concentration quenching behavior and the mechanisms are speculated to be due to radiative (self-absorption) and non-radiative energy transfer, which may be phonon assisted.     

Phosphorus doping as an efficient way to modify the radiative interband recombination in silicon nanocrystals

Experimental results on photoluminescence spectra and kinetics obtained in the studies of SiO₂ oxide layers nanostructured by ion implantation of silicon with subsequent doping and annealing are systematized. It is shown that phosporus doping by ion implantation leads to a severalfold increase in the intensity and decay time of nonstationary photoluminescence at λ = 750 nm because of an increase in the probability of radiative recombination at Si doped quantum dots and of passivation of dangling bonds at the nanocrystal-matrix interfaces.