Room-temperature electroluminescence from Si microdisks with Ge quantum dots

Area of Science:

• Optoelectronics
• Materials Science
• Quantum Dots

Background:

• Silicon photonics is a key technology for integrated circuits.
• Efficient light emission in silicon remains a challenge.
• Germanium quantum dots offer tunable optical properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To fabricate and characterize a silicon-based light-emitting device.
• To achieve room-temperature electroluminescence using germanium quantum dots.
• To integrate quantum dots within a silicon microdisk resonator for enhanced light extraction.

Main Methods:

• Fabrication of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) based device.
• Embedding germanium (Ge) self-assembled quantum dots into a silicon microdisk resonator.
• Incorporation of a p-i-n junction for current injection.
• Observation and analysis of electroluminescence (EL) spectra.
• Numerical simulations to identify whispering gallery modes (WGMs).

Main Results:

• Successful fabrication of a current-injected silicon-based light-emitting device.
• Observation of room-temperature resonant electroluminescence from Ge quantum dots.
• Identification of EL peaks corresponding to WGMs within the microdisk resonator.
• Validation of experimental results through numerical simulations.

Conclusions:

• Demonstrated efficient room-temperature electroluminescence from Ge quantum dots in a silicon microdisk.
• Validated the role of the microdisk resonator in enhancing light emission.
• This silicon-based light-emitting device is promising for integrated optoelectronic applications.