1.54 μm room-temperature electroluminescence of erbium-doped GaAs and GaAlAs grown by molecular beam epitaxy

Abstract

GaAs and GaAlAs double-heterostructure light emitting diodes doped with erbium have been grown by molecular beam epitaxy. Both devices exhibit 1.54 μm electroluminescence (EL) at 300 K but the spectra obtained for GaAlAs:Er are much narrower than those of GaAs:Er. 1.54 μm EL has been detected for injection currents as low as 0.8 mA/cm2 and an external quantum efficiency of 10−6 has been found at 300 K. Preliminary data concerning the energy transfer from the injected carriers to the rare earth are provided.