Effect of the annealing temperature on erbium ion electroluminescence in Si:(Er,O) diodes with (111) substrate orientation

The influence of the temperature of secondary annealing, stimulating the formation of optically and electrically active centers, on the erbium ion electroluminescence (EL) at λ≈1.54 µm in (111) Si:(Er,O) diodes has been studied. The diodes were fabricated by the implantation of 2.0 and 1.6 MeV erbium ions at doses of 3×10¹⁴ cm^?2 and oxygen ions (0.28 and 0.22 MeV, 3×10¹⁵ cm^?2). At room temperature, the EL intensity in the breakdown mode grows with the annealing temperature increasing from 700 to 950°C. At annealing temperatures of 975–1100°C, no erbium EL is observed in the breakdown mode owing to the formation of microplasmas. The intensity of the injection EL at 80 K decreases with the annealing temperature increasing from 700 to 1100°C.