Influence of Dislocation Loops on the Near-Infrared Light Emission From Silicon Diodes

The infrared light emission of forward-biased silicon diodes is studied. Through ion implantation and anneal, dislocation loops were created near the diode junction. These loops suppress the light emission at the band-to-band peak around 1.1 mum. The so-called D1 line at 1.5 mum is strongly enhanced by these dislocation loops. We report a full study of photoluminescence and electroluminescence of these diodes. The results lead to new insights for the manufacturing approach of practical infrared light sources in integrated circuits.