STRONG BLUE AND VIOLET PHOTOLUMINESCENCE AND ELECTROLUMINESCENCE FROMGERMANIUM-IMPLANTED AND SILICON-IMPLANTED SILICON-DIOXIDE LAYERS

The photoluminescence (PL) and electroluminescence (EL) properties of Ge-implanted SiO2 layers thermally grown on a Si substrate were invest igated and compared to those of Si-implanted SiO2 films. The PL spectr a from Ge-implanted SiO2 were recorded as a function of annealing temp erature. It was found that the blue-violet PL from Ge-rich oxide layer s reaches a maximum after annealing at 500 degrees C for 30 min, and i s substantially more intense than the PL emission from Si-implanted ox ides. The neutral oxygen vacancy is believed to be responsible for the observed luminescence. The EL spectrum from the Ge-implanted oxide af ter annealing at 1000 degrees C correlates very well with the PL one, and shows a linear dependence on the injected current. The EL emission , was strong enough to be readily seen with the naked eye and the EL e fficiency was assessed to be about 5 X 10(-4). (C) 1997 American Insti tute of Physics. [S0003-6951(97)02745-9].