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arXiv:2509.11592 · Nanomaterials

Integration of Er3+ Emitters in Silicon-on-Insulator Nanodisk Metasurface

Joshua Bader, Hamed Arianfard, Vincenzo Ciavolino, Mohammed Ashahar Ahamad, Faraz Ahmed Inam, Shin Sato, Stefania Castelletto

Published Oct 1, 2025• 2 citations
arXivHTMLPDF

Abstract

Erbium (Er3+) emitters are relevant for optical applications due to their narrow emission line directly in the telecom C-band due to the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition at 1.54 μm. Additionally, they are promising candidates for future quantum technologies when embedded in thin film silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to achieve fabrication scalability and CMOS compatibility. In this paper we integrate Er3+ emitters in SOI metasurfaces made of closely spaced arrays of nanodisks, to study their spontaneous emission via room and cryogenic temperature confocal microscopy, off-resonance and in-resonance photoluminescence excitation at room temperature and time-resolved spectroscopy. This work demonstrates the possibility to adopt CMOS-compatible and fabrication-scalable metasurfaces for controlling and improving the collection efficiency of the spontaneous emission from the Er3+ transition in SOI and that they could be adopted in similar technologically advanced materials.

DOI
10.3390/nano15191499

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Erbium (Er3+) emitters are relevant for optical applications due to their narrow emission line directly in the telecom C-band due to the 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 transition at 1.54 μm. Additionally, they are promising candidates for future quantum technologies when embedded in thin film silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to achieve fabrication scalability and CMOS compatibility. In this paper we integrate Er3+ emitters in SOI metasurfaces made of closely spaced arrays of nanodisks, to study their spontaneous emission via room and cryogenic temperature confocal microscopy, off-resonance and in-resonance photoluminescence excitation at room temperature and time-resolved spectroscopy. This work demonstrates the possibility to adopt CMOS-compatible and fabrication-scalable metasurfaces for controlling and improving the collection efficiency of the spontaneous emission from the Er3+ transition in SOI and that they could be adopted in similar technologically advanced materials.
Erbium (Er3+) emitters are relevant for optical applications due to their narrow emission line directly in the telecom C-band due to the 4I13/2 →4I15/2 transition at 1.54 μm. Additionally they are promising candidates for future quantum technologies when embedded in thin-film silicon-on-insulator (SOI) to achieve fabrication scalability and CMOS compatibility. In this paper we integrate Er3+ emitters in SOI metasurfaces made of closely spaced array of nanodisks, to study their spontaneous emission via room and cryogenic temperature confocal microscopy, off-resonance and in-resonance photoluminescence excitation at room temperature and time resolved spectroscopy. This work demonstrates the possibility to adopt CMOS-compatible and fabrication scalable metasurfaces for controlling and improving the collection efficiency of the spontaneous emission from the Er3+ transition in SOI and could be adopted in similar technologically advanced materials.
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Defects and dopant atoms in solid state materials are a promising platform for realizing single photon sources and quantum memories, which are the basic building blocks of quantum repeaters needed for long distance quantum networks. In particular, trivalent erbium (Er3+) is of interest because it couples C-band telecom optical transitions with a spin-based memory platform. In order to produce quantum repeaters at the scale required for quantum networks it is imperative to integrate these necessary building blocks with mature and scalable semiconductor processes. In this work, we demonstrate the optical isolation of single Er3+ ions in CMOS-compatible titanium dioxide (TiO2) thin films monolithically integrated on a silicon-on-insulator photonics platform. Our results demonstrate an initial step toward the realization of a monolithically integrated and scalable quantum photonics package based on Er3+ doped thin films.
The use of rare earth ions (REIs)—typically embedded as atomic defects in solids—has emerged as a promising strategy for practical quantum memories. In particular, the Er ion has garnered significant attention due to its telecom C-band optical transition, which makes it a suitable candidate for integration into existing optical fiber networks without the need for photon wavelength conversion. However, successful scalability of such a quantum memory platform would benefit greatly from employing a host material that is fully compatible with silicon and modern CMOS fabrication processes. In this study, we present the synthesis of Er-doped TiO2 thin films directly on standard silicon or silicon-on-insulator (SOI) substrates using atomic layer deposition (ALD). Our thin film exhibits favorable emitter properties at cryogenic temperatures (T = 3.5 K), including a narrow inhomogeneous linewidth and optical lifetime approaching that of bulk values. Additionally, the ALD process provides ample opportunities for device fabrication and integration with other components, further enhancing its potential for practical applications. Overall, our findings suggest that Er-doped TiO2 thin films synthesized via ALD represent a promising approach for developing practical quantum memories that can be seamlessly integrated with silicon photonics. This work lays a foundation for the development of quantum technologies with potential applications in communication, computing, and cryptography.
Spin-carrying single-photon emitters operating in the telecommunication C-band (1530-1565nm) are prime candidates for integrated spin-photon interfaces, offering seamless compatibility with existing fiber-optic infrastructure, an essential component for future quantum networks. In this context, erbium-dopants (Er3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+) are particularly compelling due to their exceptional emitter properties, including small spectral diffusion and long spin coherence times. However, their low C-band photon-emission rate and operation at cryogenic temperatures has limited the realization of this technology. In this work, we demonstrate fully integrated single-photon emission from an ion implanted Er3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+-embedded into a 4H-silicon-carbide-on-insulator (4H-SiCOI) microring resonator operating at room temperature. By optimizing the mode overlap between the resonator and the Er3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+-defect, we achieved a $\sim707070\times$ Purcell enhancement and recorded small spectral diffusion of $\sim$54 MHz. We further characterize the Er3+\text{Er}^{3+}Er3+ single photon emission via photon correlation g(2)^{(2)}(2)-histograms and investigate its performance under varying magnetic-field, demonstrating Zeeman splitting on single emitters.