Abstract
Abstract High-precision placement of rare-earth ions in scalable silicon-based nanostructured materials exhibiting high photoluminescence (PL) emission, photostable and polarized emission, and near-radiative-limited excited state lifetimes can serve as critical building blocks toward the practical implementation of devices in the emerging fields of nanophotonics and quantum photonics. Introduced herein are optical nanostructures composed of arrays of ultrathin silicon carbide (SiC) nanowires (NWs) that constitute scalable one-dimensional NW-based photonic crystal (NW-PC) structures. The latter are based on a novel, fab-friendly, nanofabrication process. The NW arrays are grown in a self-aligned manner through chemical vapor deposition. They exhibit a reduction in defect density as determined by low-temperature time-resolved PL measurements. Additionally, the NW-PC structures enable the positioning of erbium (Er3+) ions with an accuracy of 10 nm, an improvement on the current state-of-the-art ion implantation processes, and allow strong coupling of Er3+ ions in NW-PC. The NW-PC structure is pivotal in engineering the Er3+-induced 1540-nm emission, which is the telecommunication wavelength used in optical fibers. An approximately 60-fold increase in the room-temperature Er3+ PL emission is observed in NW-PC compared to its thin-film analog in the linear pumping regime. Furthermore, 22 times increase in the Er3+ PL intensity per number of exited Er ions in NW-PC was observed at saturation while using 20 times lower pumping power. The NW-PC structures demonstrate broadband and efficient excitation characteristics for Er3+, with an absorption cross-section (~2 × 10−18 cm2) two-order larger than typical benchmark values for direct absorption in rare-earth-doped quantum materials. Experimental and simulation results show that the Er3+ PL is photostable at high pumping power and polarized in NW-PC and is modulated with NW-PC lattice periodicity. The observed characteristics from these technologically friendly nanophotonic structures provide a promising route to the development of scalable nanophotonics and formation of single-photon emitters in the telecom optical wavelength band.
Highlights
In recent years, there has been a tremendous interest in the synthesis, properties, and applications of semiconductor nanowires (NWs)
We report on a new class of complementary metal oxide semiconductor-compatible nanophotonic structures based on scalable silicon carbide (SiC) NW-based photonic crystal (PC) (NW-PC) doped with and without oxygen, and Er ions
The surface roughness and crystallinity of the NWs enable the growth of ultrathin ≤20nm structures and enable the controlled placement of Er3+ ions down to a nanoscale resolution. Another major advantage is the engineering of the Er3+-induced 1540-nm emission through efficient coupling with the NW-based photonic crystal (NW-PC). We demonstrate that these one-dimensional (1D) PC structures provide an extremely efficient excitation route for Er3+, exhibiting a photostable and polarized Er3+ emission for potential applications in nanophotonics, and long-distance telecom optical quantum networks
Summary
There has been a tremendous interest in the synthesis, properties, and applications of semiconductor nanowires (NWs). This interest has been complemented by the industry’s enthusiasm toward faster nanodevices exhibiting high functionality with reduced energy consumption. The synthesis and simultaneous on-demand positioning of NWs, coupled with the ability to control their orientation and spatial assembly, are critical factors toward the production of nanosystems and nanodevices [1]. The primary limiting challenge commonly faced, especially for feature sizes below 100 nm and bottom-up approaches, is the required deterministic and scalable integration, which involves control over the density, orientation, and spacing of the synthesized NWs. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. Tabassum et al.: Engineered telecom emission and controlled positioning of Er3+
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
