Optically activated Si nanowires and nanoribbons as a platform for Si-based photonics

This paper reports on optical activation of Si nanowires and Si nanoribbons by coupling Er. Single crystalline Si nanowires with diameters 100 nm and with length exceeding mum, and Si nanoribbons with thickness of 5-10 nm and with length of a few hundred of mum were grown by vapor-liquid-solid (VLS) growth mechanism using metal catalysts. Such Er-activated Si nanowires display strong Er³⁺ luminescence, excited via carriers in Si nanowires, yet comparable to pure silica in luminescence efficiency, showing promise of becoming a new material platform for Si-based photonics.