Dislocation-related luminescence in Er-implanted silicon

The behavior of luminescence spectra and structural defects in single crystal Czochralski silicon after erbium implantation at 1–1.8 MeV energies and 1×10¹³ cm⁻² dose with subsequent annealing at 1000–1200°C for 0.25–3 h in argon and a chlorine-containing ambience (CCA) was studied by photoluminescence (PL), transmission electron microscopy and chemical etching/Nomarski microscopy. We have found that annealing in CCA gives rise to dislocation loops and pure edge dislocations with dominant dislocation-related lines in the PL spectrum. Pure edge dislocations are responsible for the appearance of the lines.     

On the origin of 1.5 μm luminescence in porous silicon coated with sol–gel derived erbium-doped Fe2O3 films

Sol–gel derived Fe₂O₃ films containing about 10 wt% of Er₂O₃ were deposited on porous silicon by dipping or by a spin-on technique followed by thermal processing at 1073 K for 15 min. The samples were characterized by means of PL, SEM and X-ray diffraction analyses. They exhibit strong room-temperature luminescence at 1.5 μm related to erbium in the sol–gel derived host. The luminescence intensity increases by a factor of 1000 when the samples are cooled from 300 to 4.2 K. After complete removal of the erbium-doped film by etching and partial etching the porous silicon, the erbium-related luminescence disappears. Following this, luminescence at 1.5 μm originating from optically active dislocations (“D-lines”) in porous silicon was detected. The influence of the conditions of synthesis on luminescence at 1.5 μm is discussed.     

Erbium in silicon–germanium quantum wells

Strained Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells have been doped with erbium by implantation. A comparison is made with strained Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells and relaxed Si_1−xGe_x, with x between 10% and 25%, doped with erbium during MBE growth. The erbium concentration was between 1×10¹⁸ and 5×10¹⁸ cm⁻³ throughout the active regions. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and photoluminescence studies indicate that good regrowth can been achieved after full amorphisation by implantation of the strained quantum wells. The erbium luminescence is more intense in the Si_1−xGe_x/Si layers, but erbium-implanted samples containing Si_1−xGe_x exhibit defect luminescence in the region of 0.9–1.0 eV. These defects are also present when Si_1−xGe_x/Si quantum wells are implanted with an amorphising dose of silicon, and then regrown. They are attributed to small germanium-rich platelets, rather than to erbium-related defects. Electroluminescence is presented from a forward biased erbium-implanted Si_0.87Ge_0.13/Si structure at a drive current density of only 1.8 mA/cm².     

Luminescence properties of Er in SiN/PS : Er

The decrease in luminescence from host porous silicon (PS) by thermal annealing prevents the optical activation of Er ions. We prepared a SiN layer on erbium-doped porous silicon (PS : Er) as the capping layer by photo-chemical vapor deposition (photo-CVD). After deposition of SiN, the sample was annealed in pure Ar atmosphere for optical activation. We observed an Er-related emission at 1532 nm with a full-width at half-maximum (FWHM) of 10 nm at 18 K from the sample with the SiN layer. In contrast, no emission was observed from the sample without the SiN layer. At 300 K, the peak intensity of Er³⁺-related photoluminescence (PL) for the sample annealed at 1100°C decreased to 40.0% of that observed at 18 K. From these results, it was found that the SiN layer on PS:Er is useful for both host PS and Er-related 1.5 μm luminescences.     

EPR and optical measurements of weakly doped LiNbO3: Er

Optical spectroscopy measurements of the congruent LiNbO₃ (LN) single crystals, weakly doped with Er (0.1–0.3 wt%) and Er (0.3 wt%) and Yb (0.5 wt%), have been carried out. The shape of the optical absorption and additional absorption bands registered after γ-irradiation suggests the presence of Er³⁺ ion pairs. EPR investigations were performed for LN single crystal doped with Er (0.1 wt%). Unusual behaviour of the temperature dependence of the intensity and linewidth of the main EPR line—corresponding to the fine transition of ^evenEr³⁺—ions, is reported. The main EPR line appears to be a superposition of several paramagnetic centres originating from isolated ^evenEr³⁺ ions and ^evenEr³⁺–^evenEr³⁺ pairs of ions. In low temperature region (below 20 K), the main EPR signal is dominated by signals arising from ^evenEr³⁺–^evenEr³⁺ pairs of ions. The inverse intensity of the EPR line at low temperature region fulfils the Curie–Weiss law and enabled to determine the Curie–Weiss constant Θ=1.5±0.5 K. The positive sign of Θ suggests that the ferromagnetic interactions arise in the system of ^evenEr³⁺–^evenEr³⁺ ion pairs in LN. Our results suggest that the distribution of Er ions in congruent LN is not homogeneous and Er impurity ions can form clusters in host lattice even in the case of weak erbium doping.     

A comparative study of donor formation in dysprosium, holmium, and erbium implanted silicon

Formation of donor centers in Czochralski grown silicon doped with dysprosium, holmium, and erbium is discussed. Donor states of three kinds are introduced in the implanted layers after annealing at T=700°C. Shallow donor states with ionization energies between 20 and 40 meV are attributed to oxygen -related thermal donors. Other donor centers in the energy range of E_C−(60…70) meV and E_C−(100…120) meV appear to be dependent on dopants. After a 900°C anneal strong changes in the donor formation are observed only in silicon doped with erbium. Instead of donors at E_C−(118±5) meV, new donor centres at E_C−(145±5) meV are formed. Reportedly, the latter ones are involved in the excitation process of the Er³⁺ ions with a characteristic luminescence line at ≈1.54 μm.     

Er离子注入的富硅SiO2MOS-LED的可见和红外电致发光特性

通过Er离子和Si离子注入并结合高温退火制备了Er掺杂的富硅SiO2薄膜以及ITO/SiON/富硅SiO2:Er/Si MOS结构电致发光器件.研究了富Si浓度的变化对Er3+离子掺杂的电致发光器件的发光性能和传导特性的影响.发现不同Si含量对Er3+离子的不同能级的电致发光会产生不同作用.在富Si量小于5％的条件下,...     

热退火对SiO2：Er薄膜发光特性的影响

利用离子注入法制备SiO₂:Er样品,并在不同温度下进行退火处理。通过微区拉曼光谱、吸收光谱、X射线光电子能谱等手段对其进行结构表征,并进行了室温和变温的光致发光特性研究,得到了可见区和红外区的光致发光。其中,⁴S_3/2→⁴I_15/2的发光强度随温度的升高,先增强后减弱,呈现出反常的温度淬灭效应,此现象是由Er³⁺与SiO₂的缺陷之间的能量传递造成的。     

EXAFS analysis of Er sites in Er–O and Er–F co-doped crystalline Si

We present extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) and photoluminescence (PL) analyses of Er–O and Er–F co-doped Si. Samples were prepared by multiple implants at 77 K of Er and co-dopant (O or F) ions resulting in the formation of a2 μm thick amorphous layer uniformly doped with 1×10¹⁹ Er/cm³ and 3×10¹⁹ O/cm³, 1×10²⁰ O/cm³ or 1×10²⁰ F/cm³. EXAFS measurements show that the local environment of the Er sites in the amorphous layers consists of 6 Si first neighbors. After epitaxial regrowth at 620°C for 3 h, Er is fully coordinated with 8 F ions in the Er–F samples, while Si and O ions are concomitantly present in the first shell of O co-doped samples. Post regrowth thermal treatments at 900°C leave the coordination unchanged in the Er+F, while the Er+O (ratio 1 : 10) doped samples present Er sites with a fully O coordinated shell with an average of 5 O atoms and 4 O atoms after 30 s and 12 h, respectively. We have also found that the fine structure and intensity of the high-resolution PL spectra are strongly dependent on the Er-impurity ratio and on thermal process parameters in the Er–O co-doped samples, while this is not observed for the F-doped samples. The most intense PL response at 15 K was obtained for the 1 : 3 E : O ratio, suggesting that an incomplete O shell around Er is particularly suitable for optical excitation.     

Excitation cross-section and lifetime of the excited state of erbium ions in avalanching light-emitting Si : Er : O diodes

Electroluminescence (EL) characteristics of avalanching silicon diodes fabricated by Er and O co-implantation and subsequent annealing have been studied. Saturation of the Er-related EL intensity is achieved under the avalanche regime at current density an order of magnitude lower than that under the tunnel regime. Under avalanche regime at 300 K, the effective cross-section for excitation of Er³⁺ ions is equal to 2.3×10⁻¹⁶ cm² and the lifetime of the excited state is equal to 380 μs being four times higher than these values in tunneling diodes.     

Green and red up-conversion emissions of Er–Yb Co-doped TiO2 nanocrystals prepared by sol–gel method

In this paper, green and red up-conversion emissions of Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals were reported. The phase structure, particle size and optical properties of Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals samples were characterized by using X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), UV–vis–NIR absorption spectra and photoluminescence (PL) spectra. Green and red up-conversion emissions in the range of 520–570 nm (²H_11/2, ⁴S_3/2→⁴I_15/2) and 640–690 nm (⁴F_9/2→⁴I_15/2) were observed for the Er³⁺–Yb³⁺ co-doped TiO₂ nanocrystals. The visible up-conversion mechanism and temperature dependence of up-conversion emission for Er³⁺ in TiO₂ nanocrystals were discussed in detail.     

Visible photoluminescence and its mechanisms from a-SiOx : H films with different stoichiometry

The photoluminescence (PL) properties of H-rich amorphous silicon oxide thin films prepared by dual-plasma chemical vapor deposition have been studied. The three commonly reported PL bands centered around 1.7, 2.1 and 2.9 eV have been detected from the same type of a-SiO_x : H material, only by varying the oxygen content (x≈1.35, 1.65, 2). In order to characterize the PL bands, the samples in as-prepared and annealed states up to 900°C have been analyzed by XPS, FT-IR, gas effusion, ESR and ellipsometry. Temperature quenching experiments are crucial to distinguish the 1.7 eV band, fully consistent with a bandtail-to-bandtail transition, from radiative defect luminescence mechanisms attributed either to defects related to Si–OH groups (2.9 eV) or to oxygen vacancy defects (2.1 eV).     

New efficient mechanism of excitation of electroluminescence from erbium ions in crystalline silicon

In p–n junctions based on c-Si : Er we have realized highly efficient excitation of erbium electroluminescence at 1.54 μm with an efficiency close to unity. A possible mechanism is Auger recombination of electrons occupying the upper subband of the conduction band with free holes in the valence band whereas the energy of the recombination process is transferred by Coulomb interaction to 4f-electrons of an erbium ion transmitting it to the second excited state ⁴I_11/2 (excitation energy 1.26 eV). The observed three-level excitation of erbium ions is promising for development of a Si : Er laser.     

EPR study of erbium-impurity complexes in silicon

Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements have been used to characterise Er complexes formed in FZ silicon by the implantation of erbium together with either oxygen or fluorine. The samples have a 2 μm thick layer containing 10¹⁹ Er/cm³ alone or in addition 3×10¹⁹ O/cm³, 10²⁰ O/cm³ or 10²⁰ F/cm³. Various post-implantation anneals were carried out. Several different erbium centres, which have either C_1h monoclinic or trigonal symmetry, are observed and the way in which the type of centre depends on the implantation and annealing conditions is reported.     

Time-resolved photoluminescence study of the red emission in nanoporous SiGe alloys

Porous Si_1−xGe_x (PSiGe) layers with efficient room temperature visible photoluminescence (PL) were elaborated by anodical etching from p-type doped epitaxial layers with Ge contents from 5 to 30%. The luminescence is characterised by a broad PL band centred at 1.8 eV. Time resolved photoluminescence decay is studied in porous silicon germanium as a function of germanium content, temperature, emission energies and surface passivation. The PL decay line shape is well described by a stretched exponential in all cases. The effective lifetime at low temperature in as prepared porous Si_1−xGe_x is 400 μs, i.e. an order of magnitude less than in porous silicon. After the formation of a 20 Å thick oxide surface layer we observe a decrease of the effective lifetime to 20 μs at T=4 K.     

Radiative and non radiative spectroscopic properties of Er ion in tellurite glass

We have investigated in detail the mechanism of infrared emission and upconversion emission of Er³⁺ in tellurite glass as a function of the dopant concentration. Both the infrared and upconversion emissions are competing processes and the efficiency of infrared emission at 1534 nm is 100% at the lowest Er content (0.5 mol%) and reduces to 50% at higher dopant concentration (>2 mol%). The green upconversion emission at 548 nm is mainly due to the excited state absorption (ESA) from ⁴I_11/2, which populate the ⁴F_7/2 level. In addition to this, the possible energy transfer (ET) through Er³⁺(⁴I_11/2) + Er³⁺(⁴I_11/2) → Er³⁺(⁴F_7/2) + Er³⁺(⁴I_15/2) can also results in the green emission as is noticed from the concentration dependent efficiency change of the green emission. The fluorescence quenching of green emission with Er concentration may be related with the cross relaxation (CR) process ²H_11/2 + ⁴I_15/2 → ⁴I_9/2 + ⁴I_13/2. The red emission is due to the combined effect of the ESA from level ⁴I_13/2 to ⁴F_9/2, the energy transfer process described by Er³⁺(⁴I_13/2) + Er³⁺(⁴I_11/2) → Er³⁺(⁴F_9/2) + Er³⁺(⁴I_15/2) and the cross relaxation process.     

MBE-grown Si: Er light-emitting structures: Effect of epitaxial growth conditions on impurity concentration and photoluminescence

The technology and properties of light-emitting structures based on silicon layers doped by erbium during epitaxial MBE growth are studied. The epitaxial layer forming on substrates prepared from Czochralski-grown silicon becomes doped by oxygen and carbon impurities in the process. This permits simplification of the Si: Er layer doping by luminescence-activating impurities, thus eliminating the need to make a special capillary for introducing them into the growth chamber from the vapor phase. The photoluminescence spectra of all the structures studied at 78 K are dominated by an Er-containing center whose emission line peaks at 1.542 μm. The intensity of this line measured as a function of the substrate and erbium dopant source temperatures over the ranges 400–700°C and 740–800°C, respectively, exhibits maxima. The edge luminescence and the P line observed in the PL spectra are excited predominantly in the substrate. The erbium atom concentration in the epitaxial layers grown at a substrate temperature of 600°C was studied by Rutherford proton backscattering and exhibits an exponential dependence on the erbium source temperature with an activation energy of ～2.2 eV.     

Peculiarities of photoluminescence of erbium in silicon structures prepared by the sublimation molecular-beam epitaxy method

The photoluminescence of semiconducting structures Si: Er: O/Si grown by the molecular-beam epitaxy method is studied. The dependences of Er photoluminescence intensity on the intensity of pumping are measured at the liquid helium temperature. An analysis of the experimental results on the basis of the exciton model of excitation of Er ions in a crystalline silicon matrix reveals the significant role played by an alternative channel of free-exciton trapping (apart from the donor energy levels of erbium-oxygen complexes), as well as that played by the nonradiative channel in the recombination of excitons, bound to erbium donors, without the excitation of erbium. The ratio of the concentration of optically active centers of erbium luminescence to the total concentration of introduced erbium is estimated.     

Visible and infrared photoluminescence from Er-doped SiOx

The annealing behaviors of photoluminescence of SiO_x and Er-doped SiO_x grown by molecular beam epitaxy in the wavelength range of visible and infrared light are studied. For SiO_x, four PL bands located at 510, 600, 716 and 810 nm, respectively, are observed. For Er-doped SiO_x, the 716 nm band, which is believed to be originated from the electron–hole recombination at the interface between crystalline Si and amorphous SiO₂, disappears in the annealing temperature range of 500–900°C. It is suggested the enhancement of Er luminescence is partially due to the energy transfer from the recombination at the interface between crystalline Si and SiO₂ to Er ions.     

掺铒硅基材料发光的新途径

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