Room-temperature luminescence in semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon implanted with Er

We demonstrate sharp room-temperature electroluminescence at 1.54 μm due to intra-4f transitions of Er3+ in semi-insulating polycrystalline silicon (SIPOS) implanted with Er and annealed for implant damage recovery. Our measurements refer to SIPOS containing ≈ 30 at.% O, doped with Er to concentrations of about 1 at.% and annealed at a temperature in the 400–1100°C range. The luminescence has been excited either by optically pumping with an Ar laser or by biasing suitable metal-SIPOS-p+ silicon devices.