Towards population inversion of electrically pumped Er ions sensitized by Si nanoclusters

O. Jambois (1) , Fabrice Gourbilleau (2) , A. J. Kenyon (3) , J. Montserrat (4) , Richard Rizk (2) , B. Garrido (1)

1 LENS, MIND-IN2UB - Micronanotecnologies i nanoscòpies per dispositius electrònics i fotònics [Spain]
2 CIMAP - UMR 6252 - Centre de recherche sur les Ions, les MAtériaux et la Photonique
3 DEEE - Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering [London]
4 IMB-CNM - Instituto de Microelectrònica de Barcelona

This study reports the estimation of the inverted Er fraction in a system of Er doped silicon oxide sensitized by Si nanoclusters, made by magnetron sputtering. Electroluminescence was obtained from the sensitized erbium, with a power efficiency of 102%. By estimating the density of Er ions that are in the first excited state, we find that up to 20% of the total Er concentration is inverted in the best device, which is one order of magnitude higher than that achieved by optical pumping of similar materials.

Domaines: Optique / photonique

O. Jambois, Fabrice Gourbilleau, A. J. Kenyon, J. Montserrat, Richard Rizk, et al.. Towards population inversion of electrically pumped Er ions sensitized by Si nanoclusters. Optics Express, 2010, 18 (3), pp.2230-2235. ⟨10.1364/OE.18.002230⟩. ⟨hal-00453039⟩