Electroluminescence from Er-doped SiO2/nc-Si multilayers under lateral carrier injection

Infrared photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) near 1.5 μm from Er-doped SiO2/nc-Si multilayers are reported. A novel, effective method of lateral carrier injection is demonstrated in forward bias. The in-plane geometry increases the current density over those typically reported from Er doped SiO2 layers containing Si nanocrystals under vertical carrier injection. The observed strong PL under off-resonance excitation for Er in SiO2 and EL under forward bias are very promising for Si-based light sources – the missing link in an all-silicon on-chip optical interconnection system.