Optical Activity at 1.55 micron in Si:Er:O Deposited Films

TL;DR

This study demonstrates the fabrication of silicon-based films doped with erbium and oxygen that exhibit strong room-temperature photoluminescence at 1.55 microns, suitable for silicon photonics applications.

Contribution

It introduces a low-cost, CMOS-compatible method for creating optically active Si:Er:O films with enhanced photoluminescence through ion implantation and thermal processing.

Findings

Photoluminescence at 1.55 microns increases with O to Er ratio.

Ion implantation enhances Er diffusion and optical activation.

Films are compatible with standard CMOS processes.

Abstract

Silicon films doped with Er and O were prepared by techniques of physical vapor deposition on crystalline silicon, ion beam mixing and oxygen incorporation through Ar+ and O2+ implantation, and thermal annealing. Processing steps were tailored to be compatible with standard CMOS and to be of notably low cost to fabricate optically active media for silicon-based infrared emitters. The Si:Er:O films exhibit strong photoluminescence at room temperature that is analogous to Stark-split Er+3 ion 1.55-micron bands in fiber-optic materials. Concentration distributions were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry. It is found that photoluminescence signals increase with the O to Er ratio. Ion implantation effectively enhances the thermal diffusion of Er and improves its optical activation.