Low-temperature photoluminescence characterization of hydrogen- and helium-implanted silicon

Abstract

Hydrogen- and helium-implanted Czochralski (Cz) silicon was investigated by low-temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements after post-implantation annealing at 1000°C for 1h in flowing hydrogen or nitrogen. The PL measurements indicate a rather strong line at about 0.8eV. The intensity of this line depends on the implantation dose and on the annealing ambient. The observed PL spectra can be attributed to radiative recombination processes at structural defects created during the post-implantation annealing. The applied processes (i.e. H or He implantation, subsequent annealing) can be regarded as a promising method for the development of light emitting Si devices (spectral range of ∼0.8eV), due to the formation of optically active structural defects.