Silicon nanocrystals and Er3+ ions in an optical microcavity

The characteristics of Si nanocrystals (nc) and Er-doped Si nc embedded within Si/SiO2 Fabry–Perot microcavities are investigated. It is shown that very narrow (Δλ∼1.5 nm) and intense luminescence peaks can be obtained within the 600–1000 nm wavelength range for Si nc and at around 1.54 μm for Er-doped Si nc by properly varying the cavity resonance. The luminescence intensity of the on-axis emission is over an order of magnitude above that of similar samples without a cavity and the overall luminescence is confined within a 30° cone from the sample normal. The properties of these cavities are presented and the implications of the results discussed.