The chemical environment of Er in a-Si:H and a-SiO x :H was determined by extended x-ray absorption fine structure. Only one family of Er sites is found, coordinated on average with two to three O atoms (compared to six in Er 2 O 3 ). We devised a new model for the incorporation of Er in a-Si:H and a-SiO x :H. According to the model, Er is incorporated in the form of ͓ErO d ͔ 1322d complexes, with d # 3. The minimum configuration energy is achieved for d 3 when the valence requirements of Er are fulfilled. The complexes are low symmetry environments that allow the Er 31 luminescent transition at 1.54 mm and make Er an acceptor in a-Si:H whereas it is donor in crystalline silicon.[S0031-9007(98)

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Trivalent erbium (Er3+) presents a characteristic intra 4f optical transition 4I13/2 → 4I15/2 at 1.54 μm when incorporated in several solid hosts. Hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) is a good candidate as a host for applications in optical communications and photonic integration. We have studied Er3+ photo and electroluminescence in a-Si:H prepared by co-sputtering from a silicon target partially covered with metallic erbium chunks. Since the presence of oxygen impurities enhances the luminescence intensity, we studied the influence of oxygen added to the sputtering gas on the material properties. We found that oxygen reduces the erbium incorporation into the films. We obtained samples presenting 1.54 μm photoluminescence as deposited for a wide range of erbium concentrations. Maximum room-temperature photoluminescence efficiency is obtained for samples that contain ∼ 1% [O]/[Si] concentrations. The temperature quenching is small, mainly due to the temperature dependence of the luminescence lifetime.Room temperature electroluminescence at 1.54 νm was observed in reverse biased Si/a-Si:Er:O:H/Al structures.

One very important problem concerning erbium-doped silicon is the electronic structure of the Er3+ impurities. In particular, it is still not clear if the 4f levels can be treated as frozen core levels or their overlap with s and p states of their neighbors must be considered explicitly. For crystalline Si, the 4f levels have been supposed to be anywhere between 20 eV below the valence band and within the energy gap. In this paper we report on the first ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) measurements on Er-doped a-Si:H. Samples of a-Si:H<Er> with different Er contents (up to 1 at. % Er) were prepared by co-sputtering from a Si target partially covered with metallic Er platelets. In order to enhance the Er states relative to the Si and H states, the excitation energy was tuned between 40 and 140 eV with a synchrotron light source. At 140 eV excitation energy the cross-section of the Er 4f and 5p states is more than an order of magnitude higher than the cross section of the Si 3s or 3p states. As the Er concentration increases, a shoulder and then a peak appears at 10.0±0.5 eV binding energy. The intensity and width of this peak is well correlated with the Er concentration, and with the Er 5p and 5p½ levels at 26 and 32 eV binding energy, respectively. We attribute the peak at 10.0±0.5 eV binding energy to the Er 4f level. These are the only occupied states that can be related to the presence of Er, indicating that these levels are not valence states and consequently can be treated as frozen core levels.