ELECTROLUMINESCENT SOLID-STATE DEVICES BASED ON SILICON NANOWIRES, FABRICATED BY USING LITHOGRAPHY AND ETCHING TECHNIQUES

Silicon quantum wires in the form of silicon pillars on silicon were f abricated by using lithography and etching techniques. They were then used to fabricate electroluminescent silicon devices and to start the investigation of carrier transport through the wires. Isolation betwee n wires was achieved by a non-conductive transparent polymer which was used to fill in the device area and to form a solid matrix for the th in silicon pillars. A semitransparent gold layer, 15-20 nm thick, or i ndium tin oxide, 100 nm thick, was used as contact metal. The diodes s howed rectifying behavior and electroluminescence at room temperature at forward bias. The onset of light emission was in general at a bias voltage of the order of 10-12 V but in some cases light was observed a t much lower voltages (3-5 V). Light emission was stable over several hours of operation. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science S.A.