Optically modulated magnetic resonance of erbium implanted silicon

Hughes, MA; Li, H; Theodoropoulou, N; Carey, JD

Abstract

Er implanted Si is an important candidate for quantum and photonic applications, but the Er centres involved are poorly understood, which has hindered development of these applications. Here we present the first measurement of the crystal field splitting of the 4I13/2 manifold of Er implanted Si, using a technique we call optically modulated magnetic resonance (OMMR). Crystal field analysis allows us to determine that this splitting originates from a photoluminescence (PL) active O coordinated Er centre with orthorhombic symmetry, which is highly localised with, and magically coupled to, an electron paramagnetic resonance (ERP) active O coordinated Er centre with monoclinic symmetry. The orthorhombic centre has a g-factor in agreement with previous Zeeman measurements, and is associated with a previously unreported acceptor state at ~ Ev+425 cm-1, showing that Er in Si is amphoteric, and not a pure donor, as previously thought. The OMMR mechanism involves transitions from this acceptor state to the 4I13/2 manifold, followed by relaxation to the Zeeman ground state.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Nov 21, 2019
• Publication Date: Dec 13, 2019
• Deposit Date: Nov 21, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 2, 2020
• Journal: Scientific Reports
• Print ISSN: 2045-2322
• Publisher: Nature Publishing Group
• Volume: 9
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 19031
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55246-z
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55246-z
• Related Public URLs: https://www.nature.com/srep/
• Additional Information: Funders : Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC); Grant Number: EP/R011885/1