Electroluminescence induced by Ge nanocrystals obtained by hot ion implantation into SiO2

Commonly, electroluminescence (EL) from Ge nanocrystals (Ge NCs) has been obtained by room temperature (RT) Ge implantation into a SiO2 matrix followed by a high temperature anneal. In the present work, we have used a novel experimental approach: we have performed the Ge implantation at high temperature (T-i) and subsequently a high temperature anneal at 900 degrees C in order to grow the Ge NCs. By performing the implantation at T-i=350 degrees C, the electrical stability of the MOSLEDs were enhanced, as compared to the ones obtained from RT implantation. Moreover, by changing the implantation fluence from Phi=0.5 x 10(16) and 1.0 x 10(16) Ge/cm(2) we have observed a blueshift in the EL emission peak. The results show that the electrical stability of the hot implanted devices is higher than the ones obtained by RT implantation. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics.