Ion implantation of rare earth ions for light emitters

We discuss the excitation and deexcitation processes for solid state optical emitters. At present, there is considerable interest in depositing a material system, which is compatible to silicon microelectronics processing and which emits electroluminescence (EL). We will compare the EL results of rare earth doped transistors in silicon with doped insulators and doped wide bandgap semiconductors, especially Er in Si (a source for 1.5 mum) as well as Er and Tb in SiO(2), Si(3)N(4) and AIN, which are sources for infrared and visible light. The most impressive results are achieved by RE doped GaN film devices, which cover the entire visible spectrum. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.