Device aspects of Er-doped Si structures for optoelectric interconnect applications

Pr-doped Si light emitting structures have recently attracted a special interest in association with potential applications of optical interconnects in future chip technology. The objective of this study is to estimate some lower limits for Pr-doped light emitting devices (LED) to be used for this purpose, and the necessary material and device design considerations in order to improve the light emission efficiency. It has been concluded that there is an inherent limit to obtain a high efficiency of Pr-related emission simultaneously with a high modulation frequency. A high transition rate in the range of sub-ns, which is an improvement of more than three orders of magnitude, is expected if one can achieve stimulated emission from Er3+ ions. To experimentally develop this type of devices, Er/O-doped edge emitting LEDs with a SiGe waveguide have been processed with an estimated quantum efficiency value of 3 . 10(-5). Material choices, device operation modes, and carrier types to affect the electroluminescence (EL) intensity of these Si : Er-LEDs are also discussed.