Electroluminescence induced by Ge nanocrystals obtained by hot ion implantation into SiO2

Abstract

Commonly, electroluminescence (EL) from Ge nanocrystals (Ge NCs) has been obtained by room temperature (RT) Ge implantation into a SiO2 matrix followed by a high temperature anneal. In the present work, we have used a novel experimental approach: we have performed the Ge implantation at high temperature (Ti) and subsequently a high temperature anneal at 900 °C in order to grow the Ge NCs. By performing the implantation at Ti=350 °C, the electrical stability of the MOSLEDs were enhanced, as compared to the ones obtained from RT implantation. Moreover, by changing the implantation fluence from Φ=0.5x1016 and 1.0x1016 Ge/cm² we have observed a blueshift in the EL emission peak. The results show that the electrical stability of the hot implanted devices is higher than the ones obtained by RT implantation.