Stimulated photoluminescence emission and trap states in Si/SiO_2 interface formed by irradiation of laser

Stimulated photoluminescence （PL） emission has been observed from an oxide structure of silicon when optically excited by a radiation of 514nm laser. Sharp twin peaks at 694 and 692nm are dominated by stimulated emission, which can be demonstrated by its threshold behaviour and linear transition of emission intensity as a function of pump power. The oxide structure is formed by laser irradiation on silicon and its annealing treatment. A model for explaining the stimulated emission is proposed, in which the trap states of the interface between an oxide of silicon and porous nanocrystal play an important role.

Activation of silicon quantum dots and coupling between the active centre and the defect state of the photonic crystal in a nanolaser

A new nanolaser concept using silicon quantum dots （QDs） is proposed. The conduction band opened by the quantum confinement effect gives the pumping levels. Localized states in the gap due to some surface bonds on Si QDs can be formed for the activation of emission. An inversion of population can be generated between the localized states and the valence band in a QD fabricated by using a nanosecond pulse laser. Coupling between the active centres formed by localized states and the defect states of the two-dimensional （2D） photonic crystal can be used to select the model in the nanolaser.

Electronic states and shapes of silicon quantum dots

A curviform surface breaks the symmetrical shape of silicon quantum dots on which some bonds can produce localized electronic states in the bandgap. The calculation results show that the bonding energy and electronic states of silicon quantum dots are different on various curved surfaces, for example, a Si-O-Si bridge bond on curved surface provides localized levels in bandgap and its bonding energy is shallower than that on the facet. The red-shifting ofthe photoluminescence spectrum on smaller silicon quantum dots can be explained by the curved surface effect. Experiments demonstrate that silicon quantum dots are activated for emission due to the localized levels provided by the curved surface effect.

Plasma induced by pulsed laser and fabrication of silicon nanostructures

It is interesting that in preparing process of nanosilicon by pulsed laser, the periodic diffraction pattern from plasmonic lattice structure in the Purcell cavity due to interaction between plasmons and photons is observed. This kind of plasmonic lattice structure confined in the cavity may be similar to the Wigner crystal structure. Emission manipulation on Si nanostructures fabricated by the plasmonic wave induced from pulsed laser is studied by using photoluminescence spectroscopy.The electronic localized states and surface bonding are characterized by several emission bands peaked near 600nm and 700nm on samples prepared in oxygen or nitrogen environment. The electroluminescence wavelength is measured in the telecom window on silicon film coated by ytterbium. The enhanced emission originates from surface localized states in band gap due to broken symmetry from some bonds on surface bulges produced by plasmonic wave in the cavity.

Low-dimensional structures formed by irradiation of laser

Some kinds of low-dimensional nanostructures can be formed by irradiation of laser on the pure silicon sample and the SiGe alloy sample. This paper has studied the photoluminescence （PL） of the hole-net structure of silicon and the porous structure of SiGe where the PL intensity at 706nm and 725nm wavelength increases obviously. The effect of intensity-enhancing in the PL peaks cannot be explained within the quantum confinement alone. A mechanism for increasing PL emission in the above structures is proposed, in which the trap states of the interface between SiO2 and nanocrystal play an important role.

Curved surface effect and emission on silicon nanostructures

The curved surface （CS） effect on nanosilicon plays a main role in the activation for emission and photonic manipulation. The CS effect breaks the symmetrical shape of nanosilicon on which some bonds can produce localized electron states in the band gap. The investigation in calculation and experiment demonstrates that the different curvatures can form the characteristic electron states for some special bonding on the nanosilicon surface, which are related to a series of peaks in photoluminecience （PL）, such as LN, LNO, Lo1, and Lo2 lines in PL spectra due to Si-N, Si-NO, Si=O, and Si-O-Si bonds on curved surface, respectively. Si-Yb bond on curved surface of Si nanostructures can provide the localized states in the band gap deeply and manipulate the emission wavelength into the window of optical communication by the CS effect, which is marked as the Lyb line of electroluminescence （EL） emission.

Activation of silicon quantum dots for emission

The emission of silicon quantum dots is weak when their surface is passivated well. Oxygen or nitrogen on the surface of silicon quantum dots can break the passivation to form localized electronic states in the band gap to generate active centers where stronger emission occurs. From this point of view, we can build up radiative matter for emission. Emissions of various wavelengths can be obtained by controlling the surface bonds of silicon quantum dots. Our experimental results demonstrate that annealing is important in the treatment of the activation, and stimulated emissions at about 600 and 700 nm take place on active silicon quantum dots.

Localized electronic states in gaps on hole-net structures of silicon

Hole-net structure silicon is fabricated by laser irradiation and annealing, on which a photoluminescence （PL） band in a the region of 650-750 nm is pinned and its intensity increases obviously after oxidation. It is found that the PL intensity changes with both laser irradiation time and annealing time. Calculations show that some localized states appear in the band gap of the smaller nanocrystal when Silo bonds or Si-O-Si bonds are passivated on the surface. It is discovered that the density and the number of Si=O bonds or Si-O-Si bonds related to both the irradiation time and the annealing time obviously affect the generation of the localized gap states of hole-net silicon, by which the production of stimulated emission through controlling oxidation time can be explained.

Trap states in oxidation layer of nanocrystal Si

The photoluminescence （PL） of nanocrystal present in porous silicon shifts from the near infrared to the ultraviolet depending on the size when the surface is passivated with Si-H bonds. After oxidation, the centre wavelength of PL band is pinned in a region of 700-750 nm and its intensity increases obviously. Calculation shows that trap electronic states appear in the band gap of a smaller nanocrystal when Si = O bonds or Si-O-Si bonds are formed. The changes in PL intensity and wavelength can be explained by both quantum confinement and trap states in an oxidation layer of nanocrystal. In the theoretical model, the most important factor in the enhancement and the pinning effects of PL emission is the relative position between the level of the trap states and the level of the photoexcitation in the silicon nanocrystal.

Plasmonic emission and plasma lattice structures induced by pulsed laser in Purcell cavity on silicon

The lattice structure image of a plasma standing wave in a Purcell cavity of silicon is observed. The plasma wave produced by the pulsed laser could be used to fabricate the micro-nanostructure of silicon. The plasma lattice structures induced by the nanosecond pulsed laser in the cavity may be similar to the Wigner crystal structure. It is interesting that the beautiful diffraction pattern could be observed in the plasma lattice structure. The radiation lifetime could be shortened to the nanosecond range throughout the entire spectral range and the relaxation time could be lengthened for higher emission efficiency in the Purcell cavity, which results in the fact that the plasmonic emission is stronger and its threshold is lower.

Photoluminescence and Electroluminescence on Nanosilicon Deposited by Yb

Dynamics of photoluminescence(PL) and electroluminescence(EL) on nanosilicon deposited by Yb is investigated.The sharper PL peaks near 700 nm are observed on silicon quantum dots (Si QDs) coated by Yb.The enhanced EL peaks in the wavelength region from 1 200 nm to 1 600 nm are measured on silicon film deposited by Yb.It is discovered that the EL intensity enhances and the peaks number increases with increasing number of Si-Yb layers.The emission wavelength could be manipulated into the window of optical communication by SiYb bonding on nanosilicon.Si-Yb quantum cascade and PIN hybrid light-emitting diode is designed to apply in optical communicating,which is suitable to be integrated on silicon chip.

Activation for Photoluminescence Emission on NanoSilicon Prepared in Oxygen or Nitrogen Environment

The photoluminescence(PL)dynamics of nano-silicon prepared in various environments is investigated,which involves the emission in nanostructures related to a wider band from 550 nm to 900 nm and the localized states emission at 694 nm,605 nm,604 nm and 560 nm.It is observed that the sharp PL peak on the samples prepared in nitrogen has the shape of single tip near 605 nm,but the shape of twin tips always occurs in the two sharp peaks on the samples prepared in oxygen.The threshold behavior and the optical gain are discovered in the PL emission at 694 nm,605 nm and 604 nm.The experiments demonstrate that the optimum pressure to prepare samples in oxygen for the enhancement of emission near 700 nm is about 10~100 Pa,and the optimum one in oxygen for the enhancement of emission near 600 nm is about 1/10~1 Pa,while in high vacuum(<10μPa) the PL emission becomes weaker.

Various Trap States at SiGe-SiO2 Interface Formed by a Pulsed Laser

We report fabrication of low-dimensional structures in air by a pulsed laser on SiGe alloy samples in which different oxide structures are formed by laser irradiation and annealing treatment. The micro-structures on SiGe are more complex than those on Si. A series of photolumineseence （PL） emission is observed due to various trap states at the SiGe-SiO2 interface formed under different preparing conditions. The peak centre of PL emission exhibits red=shift from Si to SiGe because of narrower gap. A model for explaining the PL emission is proposed in which the trap states of the interface between some oxide and SiGe play an important role.