Silicon LEDs with room-temperature dislocation-related luminescence, fabricated by erbium ion implantation and chemical-vapor deposition of polycrystalline silicon layers heavily doped with boron and phosphorus

Abstract

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been fabricated in which optically active centers are formed by implantation of erbium ions into silicon and subsequent high-temperature annealing in an oxidizing atmosphere and the p-n junction and the ohmic contact are formed by chemical vapor deposition of polycrystalline silicon layers doped with boron and phosphorus, respectively. The luminescent properties of the LEDs have been studied. Use of polycrystalline layers makes it possible to eliminate the losses in the bulk of the light-emitting Si:Er layer. These losses are inevitable if the conventional ion implantation and diffusion methods are employed. At 80 K, the variation of electroluminescence spectra in the spectral range of the dislocation-related luminescence with the drive current is well described if the spectrum is decomposed into three Gaussian components whose peak positions and widths are current-independent and amplitudes linearly increase with the current. At 300 K, a single peak is observed in the spectral range of the dislocation-related luminescence at ∼1.6 μm.