Electroluminescence from metal–oxide–silicon tunneling diode with ion-beam-synthesized β-FeSi2 precipitates embedded in the active region

A metal–oxide–silicon (MOS) tunneling light-emitting diode is fabricated with ion-beam-synthesized β-FeSi2 precipitates embedded in the active region. Fe ions were implanted into p−-100 silicon substrate at cryogenic temperature (∼−120 °C), followed by rapid thermal oxidation (RTO). Under constant voltage biased in accumulation and at temperatures down to 80 K, electroluminescence (EL) with wavelength peaking at ∼1.5 μm is observed at a current density of about 2.0 A/cm2. Light output increases linearly with current density. Temperature dependence of the EL shows that the luminescence is due to interband recombination in the crystalline precipitates. The strain in these isolated precipitates may contribute to the luminescence properties of β-FeSi2 in silicon.