Highly Efficient Energy Transfer from Silicon to Erbium in Erbium-Hyperdoped Silicon Quantum Dots

Erbium-doped silicon (Er-doped Si) materials hold great potential for advancing Si photonic devices. For Er-doped Si, the efficiency of energy transfer (eta(ET)) from Si to Er3+ is crucial. In order to achieve high eta(ET), we used nonthermal plasma to synthesize Si quantum dots (QDs) hyperdoped with Er at the concentration of similar to 1% (i.e., similar to 5 x 10(20) cm(-3)). The QD surface was subsequently modified by hydrosilylation using 1-dodecene. The Er-hyperdoped Si QDs emitted near-infrared (NIR) light at wavelengths of similar to 830 and similar to 1540 nm. An ultrahigh eta(ET) (similar to 93%) was obtained owing to the effective energy transfer from Si QDs to Er3+, which led to the weakening of the NIR emission at similar to 830 nm and the enhancement of the NIR emission at similar to 1540 nm. The coupling constant (gamma) between Si QDs and Er3+ was comparable to or greater than 1.8 x 10(-12) cm(3)center dot s(-1). The temperature-dependent photoluminescence and excitation rate of Er-hyperdoped Si QDs indicate that strong coupling between Si QDs and Er3+ allows Er3+ to be efficiently excited.