Tunable Ag Nanocavity Enhanced Green Electroluminescence from SiN_x:O Light-Emitting Diode

As the driving source, highly efficient silicon-based light emission is urgently needed for the realization of optoelectronic integrated chips. Here, we report that enhanced green electroluminescence (EL) can be obtained from oxygen-doped silicon nitride (SiN_x:O) films based on an ordered and tunable Ag nanocavity array with a high density by nanosphere lithography and laser irradiation. Compared with that of a pure SiN_xO device, the green electroluminescence (EL) from the SiN_x:O/Ag nanocavity array device can be increased by 7.1-fold. Moreover, the external quantum efficiency of the green electroluminescence (EL) is enhanced 3-fold for SiN_x:O/Ag nanocavity arrays with diameters of 300 nm. The analysis of absorption spectra and the FDTD calculation reveal that the localized surface plasmon (LSP) resonance of size-controllable Ag nanocavity arrays and SiN_x:O films play a key role in the strong green EL. Our discovery demonstrates that SiN_x:O films coupled with tunable Ag nanocavity arrays are promising for silicon-based light-emitting diode devices of the AI period in the future.