A. M. Emel’yanov

Silicon LEDs emitting in the band-to-band transition region: Effect of temperature and current strength

The parameters of silicon light-emitting diodes (LEDs) prepared through boron implantation into n-Si, followed by annealing at 700–1200°C, were studied. The maximum room-temperature internal quantum efficiency of electroluminescence (EL) in the region of band-to-band transitions was estimated as 0.4% and reached at an annealing temperature of 1100°C. This value did not vary more than twofold within the operating temperature range 80–500 K. The EL growth and decay kinetics was studied at various currents. Following an initial current range of nonlinear dependence, the EL intensity scaled linearly with the current. It is shown that interpretation of this result will apparently require a revision of some present-day physical concepts concerning carrier recombination in silicon diodes.

Dislocation-related luminescence in single-crystal silicon subjected to silicon ion implantation and subsequent annealing

Implantation of silicon ions with an energy of 100 keV at a dose of 1 × 1017 cm−2 into n-type floatzone Si does not lead to the formation of an amorphous layer. Subsequent annealing in a chlorine-containing atmosphere at 1100°C gives rise to dislocation-related luminescence. The intensity of the dominant D1 line peaked at a wavelength of ∼1.54 μm grows as the annealing time is increased from 15 to 60 min.

Efficient silicon light-emitting diode with temperature-stable spectral characteristics

The influence of temperature on the parameters of the band-to-band emission spectrum of a light-emitting diode based on single-crystal silicon was investigated; the unprecedentedly high stability against variations in temperature was observed for both the electroluminescence intensity at the peak of the spectral distribution (IELm) and the wavelength corresponding to this peak (λm). The internal quantum efficiency of the light-emitting diode at room temperature is estimated as no lower than 0.1%. The value of IELm varies by no more than ∼10% as the temperature is varied from 120 to 300 K. The value of λm remains virtually constant in the temperature range of 200–300 K. The unprecedentedly high stability of λm is related to interference effects in the oxide film through which the radiation of the light-emitting exits. It is shown that one of the important factors that govern the temperature stability of IELm is a decrease in the lifetime of the minority charge carriers with decreasing temperature.

Effect of the postimplantation-annealing temperature on the properties of silicon light-emitting diodes fabricated through boron ion implantation into n-Si

The effect of the temperature of postimplantation annealing on the electroluminescence and the electrophysical and structural properties of light-emitting diodes fabricated by the implantation of boron ions into n-Si with a resistivity of 0.5 and 500 Ω cm is studied. All spectra contain strong electroluminescence (EL) peaks associated with band-to-band radiative transitions. An increase in the annealing temperature from 700 to 1100°C is accompanied by a monotonic increase in the quantum efficiency for the dominating EL peak and in the effective minority-carrier lifetime in the base of the light-emitting diodes and by the transformation of extended structural defects. Analysis of the experimental data shows that the extended structural defects formed are most likely to affect the EL properties via the formation or gettering of the radiative or nonradiative recombination centers rather than via preventing the removal of charge carriers to nonradiative recombination centers. The maximum internal quantum efficiency is reached after annealing at 1100°C (where extended structural defects are absent) and is estimated to be 0.4% at 300 K.

Edge photoluminescence of single-crystal silicon with a p-n junction: Structures produced by high-efficiency solar cell technology

The systematic features and kinetics of edge photoluminescence of silicon structures produced by the high-efficiency solar cell technology is studied at different voltages applied to the p-n junction. It is shown that the effect of modulation of the edge photoluminescence intensity by a dc voltage applied to the p-n junction is qualitatively similar to the effect induced by excitation of photoluminescence by laser radiation at the wavelengths 658 and 980 nm. The possibility of modulating the edge photoluminescence power by varying the resistance parallel to the p-n junction is demonstrated. It is found that, at zero voltage, the rise time constant of the photoluminescence intensity far exceeds the decay time constant. However, as the dc forward current is increased, the decay time constant approaches the rise time constant. To interpret the results, the concepts of the second, more efficient saturable recombination channel coexisting with the common Shockley-Read-Hall recombination channel in the structure are developed. The study extends the functional capabilities of the luminescence technique in determining the effective lifetimes of charge carriers.

Dislocation-related luminescence in silicon, caused by implantation of oxygen ions and subsequent annealing

Multiple implantation of oxygen ions with energies of 0.1–1.5 MeV at doses of 7 × 1013−2 × 1014 cm−2 and subsequent annealing in a chlorine-containing atmosphere at 900°C for 4 h give rise to dislocation-related luminescence in p-Si. A p → n conductivity-type conversion is also observed in this case in the surface layer of Si, which indicates that electrically active donor centers are formed in the process. Preliminary heat treatment of wafers covered with an erbium-doped film of tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) in argon at 1250°C for 1 h does not preclude the appearance of dislocation-related luminescence, but affects the parameters of the dislocation-related lines (peak positions and intensities).

Differential method of analysis of luminescence spectra of semiconductors

A method for analyzing the luminescence spectra of semiconductors is suggested. The method is based on differentiation of the spectra. The potentialities of the method are demonstrated for luminescence in the region of the fundamental absorption edge of Si and SiGe alloy single crystals. The method is superior in accuracy to previously known luminescence methods of determining the band gap of indirect-gap semiconductors and practically insensitive to different conditions of outputting radiation from the sample.

The mechanism of radiative recombination in the region of interband transitions in single crystal silicon

Bimolecular description of the mechanism of radiative recombination in the region of interband transitions fails to explain the linear dependence of the electroluminescence (EL) intensity on the current in single crystal silicon at 300 K for a high level of injection and the exponential decay of emission after switching off the current. The results of experiments can be adequately interpreted within the framework of an exciton mechanism of the radiative recombination in silicon.

MBE-grown Si: Er light-emitting structures: Effect of epitaxial growth conditions on impurity concentration and photoluminescence

The technology and properties of light-emitting structures based on silicon layers doped by erbium during epitaxial MBE growth are studied. The epitaxial layer forming on substrates prepared from Czochralski-grown silicon becomes doped by oxygen and carbon impurities in the process. This permits simplification of the Si: Er layer doping by luminescence-activating impurities, thus eliminating the need to make a special capillary for introducing them into the growth chamber from the vapor phase. The photoluminescence spectra of all the structures studied at 78 K are dominated by an Er-containing center whose emission line peaks at 1.542 μm. The intensity of this line measured as a function of the substrate and erbium dopant source temperatures over the ranges 400–700°C and 740–800°C, respectively, exhibits maxima. The edge luminescence and the P line observed in the PL spectra are excited predominantly in the substrate. The erbium atom concentration in the epitaxial layers grown at a substrate temperature of 600°C was studied by Rutherford proton backscattering and exhibits an exponential dependence on the erbium source temperature with an activation energy of ∼2.2 eV.

Edge electroluminescence in small-area silicon p+-n diodes heavily doped with boron: Analysis of model representations

The experimental results and model representations of the edge electroluminescence of two published studies for small-area silicon p+-n diodes heavily doped with boron are analyzed. In one of these studies it was assumed that edge electroluminescence appears in the p+ region of the diode, and in the other, in the n region of the diode. In the latter case, it was demonstrated that electroluminescence indeed arose in the n region and was caused predominantly by the radiative recombination of free excitons. It is shown that similar model concepts are also applicable to the other study. Based on several independent experimental studies (of edge photoluminescence, electroluminescence, and radiation absorption by free carriers), it is demonstrated that the linear or close-to-linear dependences of the edge-luminescence intensity on the excitation intensity, observed in single-crystal silicon at high injection levels, are caused by the close-to-linear dependences of the exciton concentration on the free-carrier concentration. The results of this study extend the capability of luminescence methods for determining the carrier lifetimes to the region of high injection levels.