Luminescence enhancement by hydrogenation of Si:Er,O

Abstract Erbium (Er)- and oxygen (O)-doped Cz–Si was additionally doped with hydrogen, using plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition. Photoluminescence (PL) spectra show a large enhancement especially for samples treated with solid phase epitaxy before hydrogenation and annealing at 900°C later. Secondary ion mass spectroscopy measurements give evidence for an enhanced diffusion of O and Er at this temperature towards the surface. Etching shows that the PL does not stem from the heavily doped surface layer but from a deeper region with lower Er concentration. This conclusion is supported by the appearance of the so-called “cubic” centre with low solubility. Comparing the PL yield of the hydrogenated samples to that of samples with similar Er volume concentration but without hydrogenation still gives a large enhancement. We thus conclude that hydrogen can enhance the solubility of the cubic centre in Si:Er,O.