Er3+-Doped Silicon Prepared by Laser Doping

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe have carried out an investigation of the laser doping of Si with rare-earth ions. In this technique a silicon surface coated with a thin layer of the rare-earth metal is melted with a pulsed laser, the dopant is mixed in the molten layer, and incorporated in the crystal during regrowth. Er was chosen for the main part of our work as it is the best characterized of the rare-earth ions in Si. Luminescence is observed around 1.54µm and is assigned to optical transitions on Er3+ ions. This preliminary study shows that this new technique is viable for the production of optically active Er3+ in Si.