Telecom Light-Emitting Diodes Based on Nanoconfined Self-Assembled Silicon-Based Color Centers

Abstract

Silicon color centers (SiCCs) have recently emerged as potential building blocks for light emitters in Si photonics, quantum emitters with spin storage capabilities, and Si-based quantum repeaters. We have recently developed a noninvasive method to engineer carbon-related SiCCs confined to ultrathin nanolayers within a pristine crystalline environment, which is of utmost importance for the photostability of SiCCs. Here, we demonstrate embedding these C-doping-based SiCCs into the only 9 nm wide intrinsic region of a p-i-n diode using the epitaxial self-assembly of color centers. We report electrically pumped light emission with an exponential increase in the intensity as a function of the driving current until saturation. We associate this property with the shift of quasi-Fermi-level position upon electrical driving, which simultaneously improves the spectral homogeneity of the engineered SiCCs. Despite the low employed growth temperatures, our study demonstrates the electrical control and driving of near-infrared emitters in high-quality silicon diodes, an essential milestone for advancing classical and quantum optoelectronics.