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Semiconductors

Determination of the excitation cross section of photoluminescence from an Er ion in the case of homogeneous and inhomogeneous optical excitation

B. A. Andreev, Z. F. Krasil’nik, D. I. Kryzhkov, Victor P. Kuznetsov, Artem N. Yablonskiy

Published Nov 1, 2012• 6 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Dependences of the erbium photoluminescence intensity in Si:Er/Si structures have been studied in cases of homogeneous (over the sample surface) and inhomogeneous optical excitation. It is shown that the excitation mode strongly affects the type of the dependences obtained. A method for determining the excitation cross section of the Er ion under both continuous and pulsed optical pumping is discussed. The value obtained for the effective excitation cross section of erbium ions in silicon, σ = 5 × 10 −14 cm 2 at a temperature of 8 K, is an order of magnitude larger than the values known from published material.

DOI
10.1134/s1063782612110036

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T. Benyattou, D. Seghier, G. Guillot +3 more

Photoluminescence experiments have been carried out on erbium doped Ga0.55Al0.45As under continuous wave and pulsed laser excitation. For the first time the emissions arising from the two first Er3+ excited states 4I11/2, 4I13/2 and their temperature dependence have been systematically studied. From these results the nature and the excitation-deexcitation processes of these photoluminescences are discussed. With the help of these spectroscopic data we give an estimate of the stimulated emission cross section and the laser applications of such rare-earth doped III-V materials are examined.

Applied Physics Letters•Jan 20, 1992•23 citations
Dependences of the erbium photoluminescence intensity in Si:Er/Si structures have been studied in cases of homogeneous (over the sample surface) and inhomogeneous optical excitation. It is shown that the excitation mode strongly affects the type of the dependences obtained. A method for determining the excitation cross section of the Er ion under both continuous and pulsed optical pumping is discussed. The value obtained for the effective excitation cross section of erbium ions in silicon, σ = 5 × 10 −14 cm 2 at a temperature of 8 K, is an order of magnitude larger than the values known from published material.
Based on a detailed consideration of excitation mechanisms of erbium in crystalline and amorphous matrix we present an analysis of the physical meaning of the Auger excitation cross section of Er3+{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}Er3+ ions in semiconductor. It is demonstrated that large values of Auger excitation cross sections under optical pumping in semiconductor matrices are due to large values of band-to-band absorption coefficient exceeding by several orders of magnitude the absorption coefficient of erbium in dielectric SiO2{\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}SiO2​ and Al2O3{\mathrm{Al}}_{2}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}Al2​O3​ matrix. The Auger excitation cross section of Er3+{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}Er3+ in semiconductor matrices is roughly given by the ratio of the matrix absorption coefficient to concentration of Er3+{\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}Er3+ ions. While the analysis of the excitation cross section is carried out for Er-doped crystalline and amorphous silicon, the results are expected to be applicable to the other rare-earth doped semiconductors. Based on low-temperature experimental results for crystalline silicon we get the Auger excitation coefficient of ${c}_{A}^{\mathrm{cryst}}\ensuremath{\approx}7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}10} {\mathrm{cm}}^{3}{\mathrm{s}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$ and the effective excitation cross section ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{\mathrm{cryst}}=(2\ensuremath{-}8)\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}12} {\mathrm{cm}}^{2}.$ For amorphous silicon at 100 K we obtain ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{\mathrm{eff}}^{\mathrm{amorph}}\ensuremath{\approx}1.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}14} {\mathrm{cm}}^{2}.$
The temperature dependence of the optical excitation cross section of Er implanted n-type GaN was studied using photoluminescence excitation spectroscopy. Due to the large 3.4 eV band gap of GaN, it was possible to probe two Er absorption lines using a tunable Ti:sapphire laser in the 770–1010 nm range. Photoluminescence excitation spectra exhibiting several Stark splittings revealed a complex dependence upon temperature. The largest excitation cross section in the third excited state was 1.65×10−20 cm2 at an excitation wavelength of 809.4 nm when measured at 77 K. This value is roughly three times larger than the cross section in the second excited state at 4.8×10−21 cm2 when pumping at 983.0 nm. The Er-related photoluminescence was reduced between 1.5 and 4.8 times when going from 77 K to room temperature, except when pumping around 998 nm. At this excitation wavelength the room temperature photoluminescence was stronger by a factor of 1.26 compared to that at 77 K.
We report a strong increase in the intensity of spontaneous emission from erbium ions embedded into an active layer of amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiO x ) in a planar microcavity based on a-Si:H/a-SiO x layers. Using eigenmodes of this microcavity both for excitation (pumping) and for the extraction of photoluminescence, it is possible to increase the spontaneous emission intensity from erbium ions by a factor of about 500 as compared to the photoluminescence from a single doped a-SiO x (Er) film.
The characteristics of impact excitation of the 1.54-μm emission due to intrashell transitions of 4f electrons of erbium atoms (4I13/2 →4 I15/2) doped into InP were investigated in comparison with the photoluminescence (PL) emission of the same peak from the same sample. The thermal quenching of this Er-related electroluminescence (EL) emission was found to be very small in contrast to the large thermal quenching of the PL emission. The EL emission intensity at room temperature was half that at 77 K, and the temperature dependence of the emission energy and the spectral width was very small. Due to almost temperature-independent nature of the impact excitation process, the quenching of the EL emission intensity reflected directly that of the fluorescence efficiency of this intrashell transitions of Er 4f electrons. Using this result, the temperature dependence of the PL energy transfer efficiency was also obtained. It was also found that the fine structure of the 1.54-μm emission was different between EL and PL. It was speculated that Er atoms on different lattice sites, which were in different crystal fields, were excited depending on excitation processes.
From photoluminescence measurements on sensitized erbium in aaa-Si/SiO2{\mathit{SiO}}_{2}SiO2​:Er/SiO2{\mathit{SiO}}_{2}SiO2​ multilayers, we determine the characteristic interaction length of the sensitization process from the silicon-layer sensitizer to the erbium-ion receiver to be $0.22\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.02$ nm. By using sufficiently low temperatures in the fabrication steps, we ensure that diffusion of erbium ions does not affect our results. In addition, we demonstrate that saturation of the erbium ${}^{4}\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}{I}_{13/2}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\phantom{\rule{0.16em}{0ex}}}^{4}\phantom{\rule{-0.16em}{0ex}}{I}_{15/2}$ transition may lead to an exaggerated estimate of the interaction distance.
Photoluminescence experiments have been carried out on erbium doped Ga0.55Al0.45As under continuous wave and pulsed laser excitation. For the first time the emissions arising from the two first Er3+ excited states 4I11/2, 4I13/2 and their temperature dependence have been systematically studied. From these results the nature and the excitation-deexcitation processes of these photoluminescences are discussed. With the help of these spectroscopic data we give an estimate of the stimulated emission cross section and the laser applications of such rare-earth doped III-V materials are examined.