Below-band gap electroluminescence related to doping spikes in boron-implanted silicon pn diodes

The origin of two luminescence bands with maxima around 1.05 eV and 0.95 eV is studied in silicon pn diodes prepared by boron implantation. The two peaks are related to the formation of p-type doping spikes on a nanometer scale. These doping spikes are generated by long-time thermal activation of preformed boron clusters. The peak with a larger binding energy stems from spatially indirect excitons bound to doping spikes in a strained environment, while the peak with a lower binding energy is related to doping spikes without strain. The doping spikes are able to capture spatially indirect bound excitons with a low recombination rate, thus effectively suppressing the fast non-radiative recombination at defects. This effect leads to an efficient room temperature electroluminescence in silicon light-emitting diodes prepared by boron implantation.