Ion implantation for photorefractive devices and optical emitters

For the development of optical devices both defect engineering and dopant introduction are the most important current uses of ion implantation. Defect engineering is a well-established concept for changing the optical index. Especially in well-ordered crystalline materials, as the optical ferroelectrics, the nuclear recoils from ion implantation generate disorder, which lowers the polarizability and the optical index. Since MeV implantation of light ions provides the largest damage at the cad of the ion range, numerous optical waveguides have been formed by the low index barrier in the depth. In addition, it could be demonstrated recently, that the implantation generated Frenkel defects within the oxides are electrically active. They can be used to improve the photorefractive (PR) properties significantly, as has been shown for single crystals of KNbO(3). In the second part we will briefly mention the latest results of different groups on the luminescence of some rare earth ions, as Tb or Er, implanted into oxides or into silicon in the form of an erbium-oxygen complex. These ions from luminescent centers, which call be activated by the impact of electrons or the recombination of electron-hole pairs. The experiments are motivated by the search for optical electroluminescent emitters, being compatible with silicon-based microelectronics. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.