Efficient visible luminescence from porous Si requires the 3-dimensional confinement of charges in structures with typical ∼3nm size. Such microporously etched Si acts as an intrinsic wide-gap material and is highly resistive. The material does not have the good transport properties consistent with an efficient electrical excitation. We instead suggest to employ mesoporously etched, p+-type Si with its better conductivity in electroluminescence application. The material luminesces in two spectral bands centered about 0.8eV and 1.0eV in the infrared. Both emissions originate from surface-bound states. We report on the temperature dependence of luminescence, on transport and first attempts to generate infrared light by the injection of electrical current.

The processing of light emitting diodes in porous silicon with green/blue electroluminescence spectrum is described. The spectral behavicur and the degradation are investigated. A phenomenological theory for the luminescence is given.

The properties of Si grown from the melt having impurities of germanium and gadolinium have been studied by IR-absorption and Hall effect methods.It was stated that Ge and Gd are effective getters for technological impurities of oxygen and carbon in silicon melt. It has been shown that the combined doping by rare earth and isovalent impurities allows to increase the thermostability of dislocationless monocrystals of silicon.

Epitaxial layers (EL) Si:Sn doped with Yb in the process of liquid phase epitaxy were studied by optical microscopy and photoluminescence (PL) methods.At low concentration of lanthanoid (0,01 < Nyb > 0,1 weight %) the good planarity of the interface and high quality of the surface are detected. At NYb > 0,1 weight % microirregularities are presented.

In EL Si:(Sn, Yb) irradiated by 4,5 MeV-electrons the suppression of the generation of radiaton defects, responsible for G– and C-lines of PL, has been found. This effect has been explainedwithin the score of the model takeng into the consideration gettering propering ofYb in reference to the impurities of 0 and C as deformation fields, attributed to the presence of Sn atoms.

We have fabricated the first Si:Er LED, operating at 300 K, based on an understanding of the Si-Er-O materials system. Er-doped Si (Si:Er) provides an exciting opportunity for the monolithic integration of Si based opto-electronics. In this paper, Er-Si reactivity, and Er diffusivity and solubility have been studied to establish Si:Er process compatibility with a silicon IC fabline. Er3Si5 is the most stable silicid formed; and it can be oxidized into Er2O3 at high temperature under any oxidizing conditions. Among Er compounds, Er2O3 luminesces and Er3Si5 and ErN do not. The diffusivity of Er in Si is low and SIMS analysis yields a diffusivity D(Er) ∼ 10−12cm2/s at 1300 C and ∼ 10−15cm2/s at 900 C, and a migration enthalpy of ΔHm(Er) ∼ 4.6 eV. The equilibrium solubility of Er in Si is in the range of 1016 cm−3 at 1300 C. The Si:Er LED performance is compared with GaAs LEDs to demonstrate its feasibility.

Favennec et al. (Jap. J. Appl. Phys. 29, L524, 1990) reported that the 1.54μm photoluminescence of Si implanted with Er+3 is activated by oxygen impurities. We observe a significant enhancement in the luminescence in Er-doped silicon epitaxial layers MBE-grown with intentional oxygen contamination. The PL is shown to be a bulk property of the material as it persisted after a partial layer removal by wet etching.

Solid phase epitaxy and ion-beam-induced epitaxial crystallization of Er-doped amorphous Si are used to incorporate high concentrations of Er in crystal Si. During solid phase epitaxy, substantial segregation and trapping of Er is observed, with maximum Er concentrations trapped in single crystal Si of up to 2 x 1020 /cm3. Ion-beam-induced regrowth results in very little segregation, with Er concentrations of more than 5 X 1020 /cm3 achievable. Photoluminescence from the incorporated Er is observed.

Optical direct and indirect excitation of erbium (Er) ions in silicon substrates was performed in order to investigate the high efficiency of Er3+− related 1.54μm emission (4I13/2→4I15/2) for direct excitation that is not concerned with the indirect band gap and low quantum efficiency of a Si host. The samples were prepared by ion-implantation or thermal diffusion methods. In each sample, photoluminescence (PL) showed the peaks originating from 4I13/2→4I15/2 of Er3+ ions.

In Er thermally diffused samples, optical excitation for energy level 4I11/2 of Er3+ ions was successfully effected by photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy (PLE). The PLE spectra consisted six peaks (963.1nm, 965.0nm, 976.lnm, 978.9nm and 980.9nm) which were caused by direct excitation (4I15/2→4I11/2) of Er3+ ions. The emission directly excited is about 2 times more intense than the indirectly excited emission. The six peaks originating from the splitting of the 4I11/2 levels meant that Er3+ ions were in the sites of noncubic symmetry. The samples prepared by Er ion-implantation did not show the effect.

Ca1-xErxF2+x thin films, with a substitution rate, x, varying from 1 to 20%, were deposited on Si(100) substrates by sublimation of high purity solid solution powders under ultra-high-vacuum. Rutherford backscattering studies have shown that the films have the composition of the initial solid solution powders, are quite homogeneous and are epitaxially grown on the substrates.

The optical properties of these films were studied by means of cathodoluminescence and photoluminescence. At room temperature, the emissions due to the de-excitations from the 4S3/2, 4F9/2, 4I11/2 and 4I13/2 excited levels to the 4I15/2 ground state of Er3+ (4f11) ions are easily detected (λ = 0.548, 0.66, 0.98 and 1.53 μm)

The strong 1.53 μm infrared luminescence, which presents evident potential applications for optical communications, is maximum for an erbium substitution rate included between 15 and 17%. These Er concentrations are three or four orders of magnitude greater than the optimum ones in the case of Er-doped semiconductors, which are close to 1018 cm-3. In the visible range, the luminescences are also important.They allow us to detect high energy ion or electron beams. However their maximum efficiencies were observed for a relatively low erbium concentration, close to 1%. These different behaviours are explained by the cross relaxation phenomena, which depopulate the higher levels to the benefit of the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition.

The energy distribution of the Stark sublevels of the 4I15/2 state, which results from crystal field splitting, was deduced from a photoluminescence study at 2K. The obtained results show that the environment of the luminescent centres does not change with the erbium concentration.

At last, it must be noted that the refractive index of the layers increases with the erbium concentration, leading to the realization of optical guides. Consequently opto-electronic components could be developed from such erbium doped heterostructures.

An understanding of the electrical, structural, and optical properites of Er in Si is necessary to evaluate this system as an opto-electronic material. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure, EXAFS, measurements of Er-implanted Si show that the optically active impurity complex is Er surrounded by an O cage of 6 atoms. The Er photoluminescence intensity is a square root function of excitation power, while the free exciton intensity increases linearly. The square root dependence of the 1.54μm-intensity is independent of measurement temperature and independent of co-implanted species. Ion-implantation of Er in Si introduces donor activity, but spreading resistance carrier concentration profiles indicate that these donors do not effect the optical activity of the Er.

The luminescence of erbium implanted in hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si : H) is presented. For the first time an intense and relatively sharp luminescence at 1.54 mm is observed in a-Si : H, using implanted erbium. The Er+ emission intensity strongly depends on the hydrogen film content and on the measurement temperature. A direct correlation between the optical gap energy of the semiconductor and the hydrogen film content is observed.