Photonic Properties of Er-Doped Crystalline Silicon

Vinh, N. Q.; Ha, Nam Chul; Gregorkiewicz, T.

doi:10.1109/jproc.2009.2018220

Cited by 57 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 82 publications

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“…This, together with a small absorption cross section of Er 3+ , creates a big hurdle, and even a doubt 9 on the possibility of realization of optical amplification in c-Si:Er. In this situation, the unique Er-related optical complex in Si/Si:Er multinanolayer structures 10 brings a promise of optical amplification. The characteristic Er-related photoluminescence ͑PL͒ spectrum from these structures at 4.2 K features only few intense and ultranarrow lines ͑Fig.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical gain of the1.54 μmemission in MBE-grown Si:Er nanolayers

Dohnalová

Gregorkiewicz

et al. 2010

Phys. Rev. B

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We present investigations of the optical gain cross section of 1.54 m Er-related emission at 4.2 K in Si/Si:Er molecular-beam-epitaxy-grown multinanolayers. This ultranarrow ͑full width at half maximum below 8 eV͒ emission originating from the unique Er-related optical complex, Er-1 center, ensures the best condition to achieve stimulated emission. The experiments were carried out using a combination of the variable stripe length and shifting excitation spot techniques under pulsed and continuous-wave excitations. The comparison of results for both excitation regimes enables to estimate an optical gain within the strong optical losses due to the free carrier absorption. Based on these measurements, the upper limit of the optical gain cross section of 10 −17 cm 2 and the gain coefficient of 8.8 cm −1 are deduced.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Optical gain of the1.54 μmemission in MBE-grown Si:Er nanolayers

Dohnalová

Gregorkiewicz

et al. 2010

Phys. Rev. B

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“…µm, matching the absorption minimum of silica-based optical fibers [1][2][3][4] . GaN is expected to be an ideal host material for RE doping because it is a wide and direct bandgap semiconductor, which exhibits less thermal quenching and stronger RE emission at room temperature than RE-doped Si [8][9][10][11] .…”

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confidence: 98%

Excitation mechanisms of Er optical centers in GaN epilayers

George

Hawkins

McLaren

et al. 2015

Applied Physics Letters

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We report direct evidence of two mechanisms responsible for the excitation of optically active Er 3+ ions in GaN epilayers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition. These mechanisms, resonant excitation via the higher-lying inner 4f shell transitions and band-to-band excitation of the semiconductor host, lead to narrow emission lines from isolated and the defect-related Er centers. However, these centers have different photoluminescence spectra, decay dynamics, and excitation cross sections. The isolated Er optical center, which can be excited by either mechanism, has the same decay dynamics, but possesses a much higher cross-section under band-to-band excitation. In contrast, the defect-related Er center can only be excited through band-to-band excitation but has the largest cross-section. These results explain the difficulty in achieving gain in Er doped GaN and indicate new approaches for realization of optical amplification, and possibly lasing, at room temperature.

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“…Such carriers appear in Si NCs upon absorption of high energy photons. In an Auger process involving a fast intraband transition, a hotcarrier may efficiently transfer energy to a proximal Er 3þ ion, which can then be promoted directly to the first 4 I 13/2 excited state responsible for the 0.8 eV emission (we note that this excitation mechanism is a direct analog of the impact excitation of Er 3þ ions in bulk Si 16 ). The hot-carrier induced energy transfer is then responsible for the ultrafast appearance of Er-related PL, within nanoseconds after the laser pulse, as illustrated by the high-resolution PL decay dynamics for one of the samples investigated in this study in the inset of Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this case, RE ions are excited by nonradiative recombination of excitons efficiently generated due to band-to-band absorption. [7][8][9][10][11] However, extensive investigations, conducted especially for the highly desired semiconductor-RE system Si:Er, [12][13][14][15] identified a very efficient excitation reversal and, in spite of an enormous research effort, 16 stable bright emission at room temperature could not be achieved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Step-like increase of quantum yield of 1.5 μm Er-related emission in SiO2 doped with Si nanocrystals

Saeed

Jong

Gregorkiewicz

2015

Journal of Applied Physics

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We investigate the excitation dependence of the efficiency of the Si nanocrystals-mediated photoluminescence from Er3+ ions embedded in a SiO2 matrix. We show that the quantum yield of this emission increases in a step-like manner with excitation energy. The subsequent thresholds of this characteristic dependence are approximately given by the sum of the Si nanocrystals bandgap energy and multiples of 0.8 eV, corresponding to the energy of the first excited state of Er3+ ions. By comparing differently prepared materials, we explicitly demonstrate that the actual values of the threshold energies and the rate of the observed increase of the external quantum yield depend on sample characteristics—the size, the optical activity and the concentration of Si nanocrystals as well Er3+ ions to Si nanocrystals concentration ratio. In that way, detailed insights into the efficient excitation of Er3+ ions are obtained. In particular, the essential role of the hot-carrier-mediated Er excitation route is established, with a possible application perspective for highly efficient future-generation photovoltaics.

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Photonic Properties of Er-Doped Crystalline Silicon

Cited by 57 publications

References 82 publications

Optical gain of the1.54 μmemission in MBE-grown Si:Er nanolayers

Optical gain of the1.54 μmemission in MBE-grown Si:Er nanolayers

Excitation mechanisms of Er optical centers in GaN epilayers

Step-like increase of quantum yield of 1.5 μm Er-related emission in SiO2 doped with Si nanocrystals

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