The electroluminescence of Er-implanted MOS structures with different silicon oxide and silicon nitride environments


The electroluminescence of Er-implanted MOS structures with different silicon oxide and silicon nitride environments

Rebohle, L.; Wutzler, R.; Braun, M.; Helm, M.; Skorupa, W.; Berencén, Y.; Garrido, B.; Hiller, D.

Er-based, electrically driven light emitters, which can easily be integrated into Si-based circuitries, are of great interest for a broad range of applications, especially in the field of telecommunication and sensing. This work investigates the electrical and electroluminescence (EL) properties of Er-implanted MOS structures with different designs of the dielectric stack. The dielectric stack is essentially composed of a 30 nm thick SiO2 layer and a 40 nm thick host matrix for the Er ions made of Si-rich SiO2, silicon nitride or Si-rich silicon nitride. All structures implanted with Er show intense EL around 1550 nm which is excited by impact excitation of hot electrons. We compare the different host matrices regarding the EL efficiency, the EL excitation cross section, the EL decay time, the fraction of excited Er ions, the EL quenching cross section and the operation lifetime. This comparison reveals fundamental properties of the EL mechanism and addresses the current problems of this type of Si-based light emitter to achieve the performance level of compound semiconductors with a direct bandgap.

Keywords: Electroluminescence; rare earth; MOS structure; decay time

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Publ.-Id: 20443