Generating 1500nmLight fromSilicon BasedLight-Emitting Layer Mixedwith Er2O3andYb203Nanoparticles

We explore anewwayforlight emission around 1500nm.Thelight-emitting layer composed ofEr203 nanoparticles andspin-on glass isdeposited onsilicon wafers. We canimprove theefficiency bycodoping Yb2O3 nanoparticles. Erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier isthecoretechnique ofmodemoptical communication systems. We introduce anewmanufacturing technique tocreate alight-emitting layer around 1500nmonSiwafer. Thislayer is mainly formed with themixture ofEr203 nanoparticles andspin-on glass (SOG). P205andYb2O3nanoparticles arealso added toimprove light emission efficiency. Thefabrication process isverysimple andhasverylowcost. Inaddition, it canbepossibly integrated with mature ICmanufacturing process widely usedtoday. Themethod ofmanufacturing thespecimens isasfollows. First isthepreparation ofthesolution forlight-emitting layer. Er2O3, P205, andYb203 nanoparticles aremixed into spin-on glass (SOG), whichisusedasthehost material. The nanoparticles areuniformly distributed inthesolution bymeansofultrasonic agitation. Thefollowing manufacturing process isschematically showninFig.1. P205 sublimes at3580C. Therefore, heating thespecimens in3000C for30 minutes could prevent P205 fromsublimation andlet itbecome phosphate glass. Inthefinal step, heating thespecimen in1000°C for90minutes inorder tomaketheErO03 release Er3+ andreact withSOG.Theheating temperature hastobe 8800C orabove sothat Er203 would bereactive (1). A large Er3+ doping concentration insilica glass results inconcentration quenching caused byionclusters. Phosphate andsilicate glasses aresuperior tosilica glass fortherealization ofhighconcentration erbium-doped optical amplifiers (1). Therefore, P205 nanoparticles areadded tothesolution oflight emitting layer toreduce cluster formation. According toourexperiments, theheating temperature andduration areimportant parameters, too. Ithasbeenknownthat ytterbium-sensitization offers awaytoaccommodate theneeds ofbroad absorption. With ytterbium-sensitization, theoptical pumpexcites theEr3+ ions indirectly, viaenergy transfer fromYb3+ ions. Incontrast toEr3+, theYb3+ ionoffers abroad absorption bandfrom800to1100 nm,with aparticularly high peakabsorption cross section. Moreover, ytterbium isless prone toconcentration quenching thanerbium, andanytterbium-sensitization erbium-doped fiber haspeakabsorption typically twoorders ofmagnitude larger thananonsensitized one(2). Fig.2 showsthat Yb2O3 nanoparticles could also improve theemission at1500nmbynearly oneorder ofmagnitude. This result issimilar tothebenefit ofytterbium-sensitization erbium-doped fiber.