Impact excitation of the erbium-related 1.54 μm luminescence peak in erbium-doped InP

Abstract

The Er-related 1.54 μm luminescence peak has been observed in erbium-doped InP layers by impact excitation of Er atoms with energetic carriers accelerated by electric field. Er ions were implanted into n-type InP and Au/Sn ohmic contacts were formed on top of the surface. The Er-related sharp peak at 1.543 μm was observed by only applying dc voltages between the electrodes over the temperature range from 77 to 360 K. Neither band-edge emission nor impurity-related emission were observed, although they were intense in the photoluminescence spectra of the same sample. The fine structure of the 1.54 μm peak was also different from that of photoluminescence. This 1.54 μm emission was related to erbium atoms excited through collisions with energetic electrons accelerated by the electric field.