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.