Study of the effects of structural properties on the photoluminescence behavior of erbium thin films

Erbium oxide is a promising candidate for possible applications as Si-based light emitting devices in nanoscale electronics. The current report presents findings pertaining to the effects of the structural properties of erbium-based thin films on their photoluminescence characteristics. Erbium metal films were deposited on silicon via electron beam evaporation followed by thermal oxidation. The effects of post-deposition annealing conditions on the structural and optical properties of the thin films were examined using a variety of techniques, such as spectroscopic ellipsometry, xray diffraction, and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. It was shown that the thin films evolved as function of thermal treatment from an Er-rich to an ErO-rich (700°C) to an Er2O3-rich (900°C) phase due to an increase in oxygen incorporation with higher oxidation temperatures. At temperatures ≥ 1000°C, out-diffusion of silicon from the substrate led to the formation of erbium monosilicate. Furthermore, the photoluminescence spectra of these various phases were measured, and the correlation between structural properties and luminescence characteristics will be discussed in this paper.

[1]  Salvatore Coffa,et al.  Excitation and nonradiative deexcitation processes of Er 3 + in crystalline Si , 1998 .

[2]  F. Priolo,et al.  The influence of substrate on the properties of Er2O3 films grown by magnetron sputtering , 2006 .

[3]  A. Kasuya,et al.  Resonant excitation of visible photoluminescence from an erbium-oxide overlayer on Si , 1997 .

[4]  G. Jellison,et al.  Parameterization of the optical functions of amorphous materials in the interband region , 1996 .

[5]  R. Grigorovici,et al.  Optical Properties and Electronic Structure of Amorphous Germanium , 1966, 1966.

[6]  Kevin M. Chen,et al.  Er2O3 for high-gain waveguide amplifiers , 2004 .

[7]  Infrared electroluminescence from metal-oxide-semiconductor structures on silicon , 2000 .

[8]  Broadband photoluminescence from pulsed laser deposited Er2O3 films , 2006 .

[9]  F. Priolo,et al.  Optical and structural properties of Er2O3 films grown by magnetron sputtering , 2006 .

[10]  Mengbing Huang,et al.  Strong photoluminescence at 1540 nm from Er-doped amorphous silicon oxycarbide: a novel silicon material for photonic applications , 2008, NanoScience + Engineering.

[11]  A. Axmann,et al.  1.54‐μm luminescence of erbium‐implanted III‐V semiconductors and silicon , 1983 .

[12]  F. Xue,et al.  Epitaxial growth of ErO films on Si(001) , 2005 .

[13]  J. Robertson.  Band offsets of wide-band-gap oxides and implications for future electronic devices , 2000 .

[14]  F. Iacona,et al.  Thermal evolution of Er silicate thin films grown by rf magnetron sputtering , 2008 .

[15]  A. Kaloyeros,et al.  Optical and structural characterization of thermal oxidation effects of erbium thin films deposited by electron beam on silicon , 2012 .

[16]  H. Fujiwara,et al.  Spectroscopic Ellipsometry: Principles and Applications , 2007 .

[17]  F. Xue,et al.  Epitaxial growth of Er2O3 films on oxidized Si(111) and Si(001) substrates , 2006 .