Electroluminescence induced by Ge nanocrystals obtained by hot ion implantation into SiO2

Commonly, electroluminescence (EL) from Ge nanocrystals (Ge NCs) has been obtained by room temperature (RT) Ge implantation into a SiO2 matrix followed by a high temperature anneal. In the present work, we have used a novel experimental approach: we have performed the Ge implantation at high temperature (Ti) and subsequently a high temperature anneal at 900 °C in order to grow the Ge NCs. By performing the implantation at Ti=350 °C, the electrical stability of the MOSLEDs were enhanced, as compared to the ones obtained from RT implantation. Moreover, by changing the implantation fluence from Φ=0.5x1016 and 1.0x1016 Ge/cm² we have observed a blueshift in the EL emission peak. The results show that the electrical stability of the hot implanted devices is higher than the ones obtained by RT implantation