Role of amorphous silicon domains of Er^3＋ emission in the Er—doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon suboxide film

摘要

An investigation on the correlation between amorphous Si(a-Si) domains and Er^3+ emission in the Er-doped hydrogenated amorphous silicon suboxide (a-Si:O:H) film is presented. On one hand, a-Si domains provide sufficient carrlers for Er^3+ carrier-mediated excitation which has been proved to be the highest excitation path for Er^3+ ion; on the other hand, hydrogen diffusion from a-Si domains to amorphous silicon oxide (a-SiOx) matrix during annealing has been found and this possibly decreases the number of nonradiative centres around Er^3+ ions. This study provides a better understanding of the role of a-Si domains on Er^3+ emission in a-Si:O:H films.