Photoluminescence from Er-implanted polycrystalline 3C SiC

Erbium (Er) ions were implanted into polycrystalline 3C silicon carbide (SiC), and were characterized by photoluminescence (PL) measurements and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) channeling analysis. The optimum annealing temperature and Er dose for SiC:Er were 1600°C and 3×10¹³ cm^-2, respectively. PL intensity decreased at 1700°C, and the bandedge luminescence changed in relation to the luminescence of Er³⁺. The decrease in the PL intensity of Er³⁺ may be due to the sublimation of Si atoms and the decrease in excitation volume of PL. The PL intensity of SiC:Er,O (SiC:Er coimplanted with oxygen) was twice as strong as that of SiC:Er, whereas no other PL peaks were observed. Thermal quenching of the luminescence of Er³⁺ was suppressed by using SiC with a wide band gap as a host material and the Er³⁺-PL was observed at room temperature (RT). Our present results suggest that the transfer of the recombination energy of electron-hole pairs generated in SiC to the Er-4f-shell via the Auger effect causes the luminescence of Er³⁺ in SiC:Er