Spectral characteristics of electroluminescent silicon CMOS light emitters

Alfons W. Bogalecki; Monuko du Plessis; Petrus J. Venter; Christo Janse van Rensburg

doi:10.1117/12.907923

2 February 2012 Spectral characteristics of electroluminescent silicon CMOS light emitters

Alfons W. Bogalecki, Monuko du Plessis, Petrus J. Venter, Christo Janse van Rensburg

Proceedings Volume 8266, Silicon Photonics VII; 82660S (2012) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.907923
Event: SPIE OPTO, 2012, San Francisco, California, United States

Abstract

The emission spectra of pn-junction and punch-through (PT) carrier injection silicon (Si) CMOS light sources were measured at various current densities and temperatures. In contrast to the narrow-band forward-biased junction spectrum, that peaks around 1.1 μm (1.1 eV), the reverse-bias spectrum was found to extend from about 350 nm (3.4 eV) to about 1.7 μm (0.7 eV) covering the UV, Vis and NIR regions. Since the photon energy decreases with increasing wavelength, the significant NIR radiation implies that the quantum conversion efficiency of Si avalanche light sources is appreciably higher than previously reported. The spectrum of PT light source constitutes a scaled combination of both the forwardand reverse-biased junction spectra. Calculating the photon flux at the emission source within the Si against photon energy allowed the deduction and quantification of the physical light emission processes with respect to silicon's electronic band structure. Intra-conduction-band (c-c) electron (e^-) transitions seem to be the dominant physical mechanism responsible for the wide avalanche spectrum. The effect of current densities up to 10⁶ A/cm² and temperatures between 22 °C and 122 °C on the emission spectrum and consequently the physical light generation mechanism are investigated and quantified.

Citation Download Citation

Alfons W. Bogalecki, Monuko du Plessis, Petrus J. Venter, and Christo Janse van Rensburg "Spectral characteristics of electroluminescent silicon CMOS light emitters", Proc. SPIE 8266, Silicon Photonics VII, 82660S (2 February 2012); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.907923

ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE

INSTITUTIONAL
Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.

SELECT YOUR INSTITUTION

PERSONAL
Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.

PERSONAL SIGN IN

No SPIE Account? Create one

PURCHASE THIS CONTENT

SUBSCRIBE TO DIGITAL LIBRARY

50 downloads per 1-year subscription

Members: $195

Non-members: $335 ADD TO CART

25 downloads per 1 - year subscription

Members: $145

Non-members: $250 ADD TO CART

PURCHASE SINGLE ARTICLE

Includes PDF, HTML & Video, when available

Members: $17.00

Non-members: $21.00 ADD TO CART

PROCEEDINGS
11 PAGES

DOWNLOAD PAPER SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

GET CITATION

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Get copyright permission Get copyright permission on Copyright Marketplace

KEYWORDS

Light sources

Silicon

Temperature metrology

Electroluminescence

Diffusion

Near infrared

Light

Show All Keywords

Keywords/Phrases

Search In:

Publication Years