Photoluminescence decay time and electroluminescence of p-Si∕β-FeSi2 particles∕n-Si and p-Si∕β-FeSi2 film∕n-Si double-heterostructures light-emitting diodes grown by molecular-beam epitaxy

Abstract

We have epitaxially grown Si/ ␤-FeSi 2 /Si ͑SFS͒ structures with ␤-FeSi 2 particles on Si͑001͒, and SFS structures with ␤-FeSi 2 continuous films on both Si͑001͒ and Si͑111͒ substrates by molecular-beam epitaxy. All the samples exhibited the same photoluminescence ͑PL͒ peak wavelength of approximately 1.54 m at low temperatures. However, the PL decay times for the 1.54 m emission were different, showing that the luminescence originated from different sources. The decay curves of the SFS structures with ␤-FeSi 2 continuous films were fitted assuming a two-component model, with a short decay time ͑ ϳ 10 ns͒ and a long decay time ͑ ϳ 100 ns͒, regardless of substrate surface orientation. The short decay time was comparable to that obtained in the SFS structure with ␤-FeSi 2 particles. The short decay time was due to carrier recombination in ␤-FeSi 2 , whereas the long decay time was probably due to a defect-related D1 line in Si. We obtained 1.6 m electroluminescence ͑EL͒ at a low current density of 2 A / cm 2 up to around room temperature. The temperature dependence of the EL peak energy of the SFS diodes with ␤-FeSi 2 particles can be fitted well by the semiempirical Varshni's law. However, EL peak positions of the SFS diodes with the ␤-FeSi 2 films showed anomalous temperature dependence; they shifted to a higher energy with increasing temperature, and then decreased. These results indicate that the EL emission originated from several transitions.

Electroluminescence from metal–oxide–silicon tunneling diode with ion-beam-synthesized β-FeSi2 precipitates embedded in the active region

“…6(b). This value (118 meV) is comparable to reported data of b-FeSi 2 embedded in p-n junctions, fabricated by cryogenic ion implantation [8] and by MBE [17]. It is also thought to be very different from the reported thermal quenching energies of 7-12 meV for the dislocation-related D1 emission and 4-10 meV for the dislocation-related D2 emission [26,27].…”

“…We demonstrate the luminescent properties of strained b-FeSi 2 precipitates in Si and can get some consistent results on the origin of b-FeSi 2 luminescence. Temperature dependence of electroluminescence from b-FeSi 2 is usually utilized to study its thermal quenching [17]. For the MOS tunnel diode, the injection current can be maintained at low temperature without changing the applied voltage due to the tunneling nature of the carrier injection [18,19].…”

Correlation between impurities in Fe–Si amorphous layers synthesized by Fe implantation and photoluminescence property of β-FeSi2 precipitates in Si

“…b-FeSi 2 has been fabricated by various growth techniques such as ion beam synthesis (IBS), reactive deposition epitaxy (RDE), molecular-beam epitaxy (MBE) and magnetron-sputtering deposition. Epitaxial growth of b-FeSi 2 occurs in its initial nucleation stage by RDE [4,5]. However, the nucleation is different for ion-beam-synthesized b-FeSi 2 .…”

Computation of Heterojunction Parameters at Low Temperatures in Heterojunctions Comprised of n-Type β-FeSi2 Thin Films and p-Type Si(111) Substrates Grown by Radio Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

“…At present, semiconducting iron disiliside ( -FeSi 2 ) has received much attention for utilization in novel low-cost optoelectronic devices in part due to its various attractive physical properties [1][2][3]. It has been reported that -FeSi 2 can be epitaxially grown on Si with 2-5% lattice mismatches [4].…”