Photoluminescence and electroluminescence from Ge/strained GeSn/Ge quantum wells

Ge/strained GeSn/Ge quantum wells are grown on a 300 mm Si substrate by chemical vapor deposition. The direct bandgap emission from strained GeSn is observed in the photoluminescence spectra and is enhanced by Al2O3/SiO2 passivation due to the field effect. The electroluminescence of the direct bandgap emission of strained GeSn is also observed from the Ni/Al2O3/GeSn metal-insulator-semiconductor tunneling diodes. Electroluminescence is a good indicator of GeSn material quality, since defects in GeSn layers degrade the electroluminescence intensity significantly. At the accumulation bias, the holes in the Ni gate electrode tunnel to the strained n-type GeSn layer through the ultrathin Al2O3 and recombine radiatively with electrons. The emission wavelength of photoluminescence and electroluminescence can be tuned by the Sn content.