Electroluminescence of erbium-doped silicon films as grown by ion beam epitaxy

Abstract

Sharp and well-split electroluminescence has been achieved from light-emitting diodes (LEDs) fabricated from as-grown erbium–oxygen codoped silicon films, where all elements were in situ incorporated during film growth. The LEDs were fabricated using ion beam epitaxy with an electric mirror sputtering-type metal ion source in an ultrahigh vacuum. Electroluminescence was observed from the LEDs under both forward and reverse biases. Each luminescence line corresponded well to the intra-4f transitions of Er+3 ions with almost single local coordination. The electroluminescence quenching factor with temperature under a forward bias was similar to that for photoluminescence. Sharp luminescence was, however, still observed even at room temperature under a forward bias. Under a reverse bias, strong electroluminescence was observed at room temperature without quenching.