Room-temperature 1.54 μm electroluminescence from erbium-doped Si/SiGe waveguides

In this letter, we demonstrate room-temperature electroluminescence from erbium ions in SiGe waveguide structures. Molecular beam epitaxy was employed to deposit SiGe layers doped with erbium and oxygen on (100)Si. Samples were processed as mesa waveguides and contacted to allow electrical pumping of the erbium ions. The luminescence was collected from the waveguides by a confocal microscope revealing emission from the end facet with a narrow spatial distribution.