Sub-band-gap optical response in Au-implanted silicon

Recently it was suggested that Au doping in Si can be realized by ion implantation and pulsed laser melting. The sub-band-gap optoelectronic response is observed and increases with the implanted Au concentration [1]. In our work, Au implanted Si was fabricated by ion-implantation with three different fluences of 7×1014 cm-2, 1.4×1015 cm-2 and 2.1×1015 cm-2, followed by pulsed laser melting. The Raman spectrum results confirm the high-quality recrystallization of the Au implanted layer. And the Rutherford backscattering spectrometry / Channeling reveal that Au atoms diffused to the near surface region. In addition the detailed angular scans along Si [001] reveal that Au atoms are mostly in the interstitial lattice sites. From the transport measurements, a p-type conductivity and an increasing carrier concentration are observed in the implanted layer. Moreover, the transmission and reflection were measured using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) to quantify the sub-band-gap absorptance in the hyperdoped silicon. In the Au implanted layer the spectral response extends to wavelengths as long as 3.2 μm. However, the sub-band-gap absorptance has no dependence on the Au fluence or the carrier concentration.

[1] Mailoa, Jonathan P., et al., Nat. Commun. 5, 3011 (2014)