Photoluminescence System for Detecting Sub-Bandgap Photon Emission in Silicon

Electro-optical systems are essential for the next generation of communication networks. As photonic devices become smaller, one sees a future where microelectronic and optical technologies are completely integrated. This requires a unified material platform, and one of the best candidates is silicon. Silicon is already widely used in the microelectronics industry, and several chip scale photonic devices have been demonstrated using Silicon on Insulator (SOI) technology. Unfortunately, silicon lacks a native light source due to its indirect bandgap. An on chip light source is necessary to fully realize the potential of densely integrated photonic circuits. Recent research has explored sub-bandgap luminescence in silicon as a possible solution. The inherently low power at this stage of research requires efficient characterization techniques. Reported here is the development of a photoluminescence experimental system for detecting sub-bandgap light emission in silicon. The system is used to measure sub-bandgap luminescence from research level samples.College of Engineering Undergraduate Research ScholarshipUndergraduate Research Office Honors Summer Research ScholarshipNo embargoAcademic Major: Electrical and Computer Engineerin